There are few who better embody the ambiguity of wrestling than Best Friends. The Best Friends are the duo of Trent Beretta, born Greg Marasciulo and Chuck Taylor, aka Chuckie T, aka DUSTIN, born Dustin Lee Howard.
Category: Art of Wrestling
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are going to be back in action again in the next few months, and everything is going to be great. That’s what Kevin thinks, at least, and we know because he’s told us so. When Sami Zayn went out with injuries to both of his shoulders in May 2018, Kevin spent the next five months reminding us of his best friend, Sami Zayn over and over again. If Sami were…
This is a story about one of the greatest feuds and rivalries in wrestling, the story of the relationship between a man and one who hurt him so deeply he carried the grudge like a live coal for years until he could achieve his bitter vengeance. It’s the tale of a relationship full of abuse and degradation, leading to utter annihilation. It’s a story of hatred and revenge. Strange as this may sound, it may…
I’m excited for this new addition to our artist interview series! Darius Chanthavong creates compelling portraits in multiple medias that have been catching my eye all year, most notably this bloody yet determined Roman Reigns piece called Fortitude. Darius answered our questions just a few days before Roman Reigns’ heartbreaking leukemia announcement, but instead of asking for an update, I thought it poignant to read the thoughts of an authentic fan and talented artist written…
I reach out and rest my hands on the barricade in front of me. Dan and I are in Brooklyn for SummerSlam 2018, and we’re in the very front row, on the end, right at the stairs to the ring. The crowd roars and rustles around me, and I cheer with delight as Seth Rollins wins the Intercontinental championship, groan with disappointment as the Bludgeon Brothers retain their titles. There’s a lot on the card…
It’s August 1, 2018, on Smackdown, and Daniel Bryan is in the ring, staring up at the Titantron. The Miz’s face looms in the massive screen as the two of them cut a promo on each other, setting up their match at SummerSlam. The promo manages to touch on the key points in their history and to sum up their feud–though “feud” is hardly the right word for something both so slow-moving and so inevitable.…
My first love in wrestling was John Morrison. No, that’s not strictly correct. My first love was Starship Pain, his finisher: a flashy split-legged corkscrew moonsault, the first move I ever learned the name of. But over time I realized that it wasn’t the flashiness of it that I loved. When you took away the extra twists and the split-legged flip, the bells and whistles and glitz and glitter, what I loved at the heart…
There’s a notorious moment in wrestling history called the “Finger Poke of Doom.” It’s the culmination of months’ worth of feud between two warring factions of the WCW, led by Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan respectively. At the climax of the conflict, Nash and Hogan finally face each other, glowering, in the ring. There’s a long, tense moment. And then Hogan reaches out and pokes Nash in the chest with one finger, lightly, and Nash…
The next artist in our interview series creates beautiful, mesmerizing wrestling portraits and T-shirt designs. After you read insight from Alex Mahoney, please take a look at the first wrestling artist two interviews (here & here) as well, as now that we are on number three, we are really start to see the range of aesthetic and purpose in wrestling fan art . . . Spectacle of Excess: Why is wrestling art? And why does…
For the second interview in our fan artist series, cruiserweight aficionado and all around awesome gal Justine Colla (who you may perhaps know on Twitter as @pastasauca) answers our questions about art and wrestling, and talks about some of her favorite pieces. This series will read best, I think, if you’re admiring the dramatic contrast of aesthetics and approaches from one artist to the next, so be sure, also, to check out our first interview with Punkrockbigmouth and…