KB’s Review: Rusev Day and Other Holidays

In the glorious tones of Aiden English, IT’S RUSEV DAY! Well of course it is because we’re lucky enough that it’s always Rusev Day, but what makes Rusev so special? I’ll spare you the full column answering that question and move on to something else: what other wrestling holidays should there be? That’s what we’re looking at today: a wrestling holiday for each month of the year. As you might have guessed, some of these might be a little bit more serious than others.

January – New Day

Well it’s a new year, so why not a New Day? The team has certainly shown that they have staying power as we’re now in the fourth year of the group’s existence. To have gone from the horrible name of Speed Force to one of the most successful teams in company history in a relatively short time is most impressive and more than deserving enough to have a special day named after them. Despite being veterans, New Day is more than worthy of being its own holiday. You can imagine the trombone rendition of its special song.

February – Rey Mysterio Day

The shortest month for the shortest wrestler to become a major star. You can always have room for an incredibly talented cruiserweight and Mysterio is one of the best of all time. To go from a huge field of cruiserweights in WCW and become a multiple time World Champion in WWE is quite the accomplishment, especially in a promotion built around big men more often than not. Throw in some outstanding matches and Mysterio is one of the best ever, not just one of the best cruiserweights of all time.

The little guy goes big.

Rey Mysterio makes his WWE debut against Chavo Guerrero: SmackDown, July 25, 2002

March – Wrestlemania Day

This goes back and forth between March and April every year so we might as well just put it into one month and be done with it. Wrestlemania is the most important day of the year and has more build to it than anything else. Throw in the next night’s major “Monday Night Raw” (possibly the second biggest show of the year) and it almost feels like a holiday in its own right already.

April – Backlash Day

This is a good idea for the sake of just sticking with Backlash as the official name for the post-Wrestlemania pay per view. It’s always been a perfect name and for some reason WWE decides to keep changing it up. Just stick with Backlash already as it makes sense and has a long history already. Who sees Wrestlemania on the calendar and then thinks Extreme Rules is the logical follow up? You don’t have to on my calendar and that’s all that matters.

May – In Your House Day

In honor of one of the best pay per view ideas WWE has ever had (shorter and cheaper pay per views which often had a heck of a main event). I’d love to see something similar come back today, especially in a world where WWE feels the need to pack up the pay per view calendar with one lame pay per view idea after another. Go with something shorter in the hope that WWE might learn the concept of “less is more”.

It did have some great matches.

60 Seconds in Hell - The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels - In Your House: Badd Blood

June – June Byers Day

You don’t know who June Byers was? Well she was a wrestler with the first name of June and I needed something for a June entry so there you go. With the recent rise of the women’s division, it makes sense to have something for them on the calendar. Byers was a big name in the day when the women’s division was a glorified side show but she certainly had a solid career of her own. And again, her name is June so it works quite well.

July – WWE Network Day

July contains a month of celebration and that makes me want to celebrate the greatest invention ever for a wrestling fan. I was a first day subscriber to the WWE Network and I can’t imagine not having it again. The idea of being able to see almost every major wrestling show ever on demand is a fascinating idea and it deserves some recognition of its own.

It was a great day.

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon welcomes the world to WWE Network

August – Vince McMahon Day

I know he might not be the most popular name with the modern wrestling audience, but at the end of the day, there’s a good chance we’re not watching wrestling today if it’s not for Vince McMahon. He’s the most influential person in wrestling history and that’s not likely to ever change. McMahon was born in August and there’s no way he shouldn’t have at least a day of his own on the wrestling calendar.

September – Lodi Day

Some of you might not remember Lodi and that’s understandable. He was pretty much a worthless comedy guy who had carried some hilarious signs while part of Raven’s Flock back in WCW. That sounds like the perfect guy to dedicate a holiday to, and the fact that it’s in the same month that “Monday Nitro” debuted makes it all the sweeter.

October – TNA Day

It’s the month of the Day of the Dead and Halloween and nothing scares me more than having to watch this promotion go on for several more years. At the end of the day, TNA (or Impact Wrestling or Global Force Wrestling or Global Force Wrestling Impact Wrestling Presents Impact Wrestling) is a glorified joke in the wrestling world and it belongs in the month of the scariest days of the year.

November – Gobbledy Gooker Day

You’ve heard stories of this thing, but never the real story. The story I’ve heard of is he was raised by wolves, served three terms as Governor of Maryland, shoots ice beams from his tail, dances a mean foxtrot, speaks fluent Portuguese, runs a mile in 3.9 seconds, won an Oscar for Best Makeup in 1984 and taught Ted DiBiase how to laugh. He’s my hero, and he should be yours too.

The world was never the same.

The Gobbledy Gooker makes his first appearance in WWE

December – Glacier Day

There’s a day in December that people wait for every year and it feels like it’s never going to get there. If that doesn’t sum up Glacier nearly to perfection, nothing else does. For those of you who don’t remember, Glacier’s debut was teased on WCW television for months but the debut of the NWO caused it to be pushed back over and over. Then Glacier debuted and was….well there’s a reason you probably don’t remember him.

Rusev Day does strange things to the mind of a wrestling fan and that’s what happened here. I’m hoping WWE follows through with what could be a major coup for them as Rusev already has a solid resume and could be turned into a star at the drop of a hat. Then again the same thing was true of Zack Ryder and you’ve seen what happened to him after he got hot against the company’s wishes. But at least we’ll have the Gobbledy Gooker, and that makes things all right.

 

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6