On the Beat with Kelly Slaughter (Slaughter Daughter)

To millions of fans, Sgt. Slaughter was a hero in the wrestling world and the G.I. Joe universe. To Kelly Slaughter, he was simply dad.

My occasional interview partner Joey Roth and I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelly earlier this week. My full recap is on the Chicago Patch at Talking with Kelly Slaughter.

Celebrities get the spotlight, but rarely do we get to see an insider's view. Kelly provided that and more. Kelly had to share her dad with his fans, but he always made her feel special with cards, notes, calls and more.

In her adult life, Kelly went on a fitness journey, losing more than 140 pounds in just a few years. She continues to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which is one of the reasons she is doing well in the Fab Over 40 contest. Kelly is definitely fab and neither Joey nor I thought she was over 40.

It was a real pleasure talking to Kelly. She is such a positive person. We thank her for her time and consideration, as well as letting share her dad for all these years.

To watch our interview, go to On the Beat with Kelly Slaughter. Always check back here for fun interviews and other pop culture bits.

 

Squared Circle Expo 2026: Heath Slater

Squared Circle Expo VI is less than five months away. Running March 27-28, it promises to be another great SCX  held at Wyndham Indianapolis West.

SCX is a fantastic wrestling convention, featuring 50+ wrestlers, many vendors, panels, Q&As, photo ops and a full wrestling card on Saturday night. The wrestlers consist of legends and current stars. One such who fits in both categories is Heath Slater, one of the first guests announced.

Heath spent 14 years with the WWE, winning three tag team championships, one SmackDown tag title and one 24/7 title. He was a solid worker, who many thought was underutilized.

last year, I saw Heath at a 2econd wrestling show. He can still go and he was in great shape, even though he is in his mid40s.He was also very engaging during the meet-and-greet.

I expect the same at SCX VI. He'll definitely have a table for meets and I suspect he will be involved in the wrestling action at some point. Either way, it'll be good to see him there.

I will be covering SCX VI, providing updates as they are announced and there will be plenty of announcements. For more info though, go to SquaredCircleX.com.

Heath and me in Vernon Hills, IL-April 2024.

Pinfalls: WWE Clash in Paris

Tomorrow, TKO and the WWE present Clash in Paris, the last PPV (or PLE) under the current system. Moving forward, WWE programming, including PPVs will move to different platforms at a much higher cost.

On Pinfalls: WWE Clash in Paris, my podcast partner Tommy Else and I do our usual analysis of the matches and make our predictions. Tommy has a three win lead on me this year and a two win lifetime lead. With about 250 predictions over five years, that is pretty close, but kudos to Tommy for his edge.

On this special Pinfalls though, we spend the first half discussing the new WWE arrangement and discussing the future of Pinfalls. This will be our last WWE PPV predictions show, as we firmly believe in #boycottWWE, Pinfalls will continue in some way.

For now, make your predictions and watch Pinfalls: WWE Clash in Paris to see ours. Enjoy the show and let us know your thoughts.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #755 Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Eden & Paige

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring celebrities wearing sports jerseys. Today, I feature WWE women celebrating the Rugby World Cup, which starts today and runs through Sunday.

Hailing from Limerick, Ireland, Rebecca Quin is best known as multi-time champ Becky Lynch in the WWE. "The Man" or "Becky Two Belts" stepped away from wrestling to have a child with husband Seth Rollins, but she came back and will undoubtedly add more belts to her shelf. Naturally, Lynch repped Ireland on her Rugby Celebrity Jersey Card.

She was Sasha Banks in the WWE, before she joined AEW as Mercedes Mone. (I'm fairly sure she will return to the WWE at some point, but not sure which name she'll use). Banks repped Japan for the photo shoot, but is of German and African American descent. She is a cousin of Snoop Dogg and she shares her birthday with me (she's a lot younger and cuter though).

Repping the USA, Eden is perhaps better known as Brandi Rhodes (aka the wife of Cody Rhodes. A grad of the University of Michigan, Brandi wrestled for a short while, before becoming an executive with All Elite Wrestling. With Cody back in the WWE, Brandi retired, but you never really retire in wrestling.

Saraya-Jade Bevis comes from a wrestling family, including her parents, brothers and nephew. Like the previous three women wrestlers, Paige worked for the WWE before departing for AEW. Many also predict her return to the WWE, but injury concerns might prevent that. Her injuries are the given reason for WWE not clearing her to wrestle and her decision to leave. Paige repped her native England for this photo shoot.

Pinfalls: WWE SummerSlam

WWE SummerSlam is today. That also means Pinfalls is back. My The Johngy "OR ELSE" podcast partner Tommy Else and I analyze the 12 matches and predict the winners.

Inow trail Tommy by two wins this year and one lifetime. I do not give out spoilers, but with 12 matches, there is a good chance for some disagreements.

Make your predictions. Then, watch our video at Pinfalls: WWE SummerSlam.

Pinfalls: WWE Evolution

WWE Evolution is back tomorrow. The all-women's event returns after a several year absence and I am happy about that.

My The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast partner Tommy Else and I analyze the card and make our predictions. I still trail Tommy by one win this year, but in our fifth year of Pinfalls, we are tied overall.

Make your picks and then watch Pinfalls: WWE Evolution to see ours. Check back here for more coverage.

Pinfalls: WWE Night of Champions

WWE Night of Champions is tonight. My The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast partner Tommy Elese and I analyze the card and make our predictions.

Check the video at Pinfalls: WWE Night of Champions. Make your picks and see how you do against us.

Pinfalls: WWE Money in the Bank

Pinfalls returns with a deep dive into WWE Money in the Bank, which airs today. My The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast partner Tommy Else and I made our predictions and added some other topics to the discussion.

There are only four scheduled matches:

Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso vs. John Cena & Logan Paul

Women's Intercontinental Champion

Lyra Valkyria vs. Becky Lynch

MITB Women's Ladder Match

Solo Sikoa, LA Knight, Seth Rollins, Penta, Andrade and El Grande Americano

MITB Men's Ladder Match

Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez, Guila, Naomi and Stephanie Vaquer

Lately Tommy has been building his lead in wins. This year, Tommy is 22-4, while I trail at 19-7, which is still pretty good. Tommy now leads me by two wins lifetime.

We also discussed the R Truth situation. Could it be part of a big storyline or am I just playing booker.

Lastly, we paid tribute to Valhalla, otherwise known as Sarah Logan or Crazy Mary Dobson, our old pal from Resistance Pro. WWE announced they were not renewing her contract. Sarah is enjoying her life, but it i still bittersweet seeing her WWE stint and probably her wrestling career end.

Make your picks and then watch the video at Pinfalls: WWE Money in the Bank. Enjoy the show!

Pinfalls: WWE Backlash

WWE airs Backlash today on the Peacock Network. My The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast partner Tommy Else and I are back to make our predictions.

Tommy has once again taken the lead on me this year and lifetime. This year, Tommy is 17-4, while I am 15-6 (still really good).

WWE website lists four matches, but other places show five. Either way, we discussed the five.

Undisputed WWE Championship

John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton

Women’s Intercontinental Championship

Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Becky Lynch

Pat McAfee vs. Gunther

United States Championship

Jacob Fatu (c) vs. LA Knight vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre (Fatal 4-Way Match)

WWE Intercontinental Championship

Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. PENTA

We did not agree on everything. We actually even disagreed on the purpose of one of the matches. Watch the video at Pinfalls: WWE Backlash and see how we did. Check back here for our future predictons.

Pinfalls: WWE WrestleMania 41

WWE WrestleMania 41 is later today and tomorrow. The grandaddy of them all is now a two day event, much to the disdain of my The Johngy "OR ELSE" podcast Tommy Else and I. Nevertheless, we forge forward and recorded Pinfalls.

The big matches are John Cena versus Cody Rhodes and a Triple Threat of Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns, but we cover all matches. We agreed on most, but did have some differences in winners, developments and aftermaths.

Tommy has once again pulled into a lifetime tie with me. This year, he is 7-2, while I am 6-3. 

You can watch the episode at Pinfalls: WWE WrestleMania 41. Make your picks and see how you do against us.

Celebrity Jersey Cards #734: April Fools Edition: WWE

Celebrity Jersey Cards is a weekly series featuring Celebrities wearing sports jerseys. In today's Special April Fools Edition, I feature WWE wrestlers dressed as other wrestlers.

Chelsea Green went way opposite of her character when she dressed as Mick Foley's Cactus Jack. No disrespect to Green and she does look great in the flannel, she is more a raving beauty than a hardcore legend. 

Chris Jericho went to the wayback machine when he turned up as Doink. To get an upper hand on William Regal, Jericho donned the Doink makeup for a sneak attack.

Mark Callaway as the Undertaker once wrestled Brian Lee who was playing the Undertaker (but really the Underfaker). Here though, Callaway dressed as Kane, his storyline brother for a feud with him.

Last and never least, A.J. Lee dressed as Nikki Bella in a bit of irony. Lee often railed against divas like Bella who didn't put in the work or have the skills to be a top woman wrestler, instead concentrating on being a diva. I'll take Lee dressed as anyone anyday. I miss seeing her in the ring.

Trish Stratus and Chicago World of Wheels

Last Friday, I saw Trish Stratus and a bunch of vehicles at Chicago World of Wheels. Go to globaltravelerusa.com/blog/ for my full recap.

Hailing from Canada, Stratus became one of the greatest WWE female wrestlers of all time. She also happens to be one of the nicest.

I have met Stratus several times. At last year's FanExpo, Tony and I asked for a picture with her and her bestie, Lita, who was at the adjacent booth. They were kind enough to oblige our request. Both ladies asked our names, in a very polite gesture. The next day, Tony and I got a photo-op with Stratus. To our surprise, as we approached her, she greeted us by name. We were stunned that a person who meets hundreds each day at these conventions remembered us by name. That is one classy woman.

When I met her at Chicago World of Wheels, I would love to say she greeted me by name again, but that would be amazing. I was actually surprised that she greeted me by saying she remembered me. That was impressive enough. This is someone who cares about her fan and giving them a special moment.

Before you think Trish was my only attraction to Chicago World of Wheels, as you can read in my Global Traveler recap, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the convention. It occupied most of the first level of the Stephens Convention Center. It was one of the biggest conventions I have seen there.

It was also very-well-run.

Seriously though, check my recap on Global Traveler (it'll make my boss happy). Also, check chicagoworldofwheels.com for more info on this great event.

Trish Stratus and me in Rosemont, IL-March 2025.

Pinfalls: WWE Elimination Camber 2025

WWE's Elimination Chamber event return this Saturday. That means my The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast partner Tommy Ese and I return with another edition of Pinfalls.

The Elimination Chamber airs live on the Peacock Network at 6 p.m. CST on Saturday. It is being held at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.

There are four matches and one additional segment:

The Rock is coming to WWE Elimination Chamber to see if Cody Rhodes will agree to be 'his champion'

Men's Elimination Chamber Match

Women's Elimination Chamber Match

Tiffany Stratton & Trish Stratus vs. Nia Jax & Candice LeRae

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (Unsanctioned Match)

I never reveal our picks outside of the video, but we did have dome disagreement in outcome and situations. I thought this was a fairly preidctable show, but maybe the WWE will surprise me. 

Make your picks and watch Pinfalls: WWE Elimination Chamber to see how yours compare to ours. Feel free to leave your picks in the comments.

Jacqueline Moore at Blizzard Brawl 2024

Great Lakes Championship Wrestling's Blizzard Brawl is a "must" on my yearly calendar. I have been going for about 20 years and it is always a great time.

This year, they brought in Jacqueline Moore (aka Miss Jackie) a true women's wrestling legend. I had never met Moore and was excited to meet her. 

Moore started her pro wrestling career in 1988. Although she experienced success in many companies, I really feel she was ahead of her time. She was tough as could be, a fine technical wrestler and a beautiful woman. She could easily have been a bigger star in today's wrestling.

It was great to see her at Blizzard Brawl, not just for my amusement, but to see her visited by so many fans. She deserves her moments in the spotlight. Too often conventions pack their guest lineups with all newer wrestlers. Blizzard Brawl certainly has plenty of current stars, but they also sprinkle in some of the older legends, for which I am grateful.

Blizzard Brawl runs every December, but GLCW puts on other excellent shows all year. Go to GLCWWrestling.com for more info and scheduling.

Jacqueline Moore and me in Waukesha, WI-December 2024.

 

Pinfalls: WWE Survivor Series 2024

WWE Survivor Series airs at 5 p.m. Central Standard Time on the Peacock Network. As always, my The Johngy "OR ELSE" Podcast partner Tommy Else and I analyze the card and make our predictions.

There are five matches scheduled:

WarGames Match

Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, The Usos & CM Punk vs. Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & "Big" Bronson Reed (WarGames Match)

World Heavyweight Champion

Gunther (c) vs. Damian Priest

WarGames Match

Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Naomi & IYO SKY vs. Liv Morgan, Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez, Tiffany Stratton & Candice LeRae

United States Champion

LA Knight (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Champion - Triple Threat

Bron Breakker (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser

For the yar, Tommy is a stellar 43-21. I, however, lead him by five wins at 48-16. This also gibes me a two win lifetime lead.

Make your picks, watch our video and see how we all do.

Pinfalls: WWE Crown Jewel 2024

WWE Crown Jewel 2024 airs today at noon (CST). Emanating from the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, it is the sixth Crown Jewel event.

Debuting in 2018, Crown Jewel has been held every year except 2020 (due to the pandemic). Part of a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030, the event's name refers to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Once again, my The Johngy “OR ELSE” Podcast partner Tommy Else and I analyze the card and make our predictions. Tommy still trails me by four wins this year. I also have a slim one win lifetime win over him.

In the past, I have been critical of Crown Jewel. I don't mind it being a cash grab, but I hate matches potentially added and decided because of the audience. The WWE should be above that. This year, the Crown Jewel championships have been added. 

That brings a lot of questions. Will the championships be defended? If so, will they only be defended yearly at the Crown Jewel event? I lean towards liking it only defended annually at Crown Jewel. My only reservation is having a “champ” of every event. WWE already has King of the Ring and Royal Rumble. This makes a third event title. Still, it is better than creating a new title to be defending with too  numerous other titles. 

Aside from that title giving meaning to two of the matches, the other ones don't seem as random as usual. This feels lie a regular WWE Premium Live Event.

It is a loaded card with seven matches:

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Roman Reigns & The Usos vs. The Bloodline

Men's Crown Jewel Championship

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther

Women's Crown Jewel Championship

WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax vs. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan

Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. "Big" Bronson Reed

Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens

United States Championship

LA Knight (c) vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes (Triple Threat Match) 

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair (c) vs. Kairi Sane & IYO SKY vs. Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match)

Make your predictions and then watch our video at Pinfalls: WWE Crown Jewel 2024 to see how we compare. Enjoy the show..

Pinfalls: WWE Bad Blood 2024

My The Johngy “OR ELSE” Podcast partner Tommy Else and I are back with Pinfalls: WWE Bad Blood 2024. As usual, we delve into the matches and storylines, ultimately predicting the winners and potential aftermath situations.

Bad Blood will air live on the Peacock Network today at 5 p.m. CST. It is being held at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Bad Street U.S.A. Will celebrate the return of WWE producer Michael P.S. Hayes.

Debuting as Badd Blood in October 1997, as part of the In Your House pay-per-view series. It returned six years later, renamed Bad Blood, as its own PPV for a two-year run before disappearing again. This year, it returns after a two decade absence.

As has been the case with many of the Premium Live Events under the Paul Levesque reign, there are five matches on the card (at least of our Tuesday recording). Those matches are:

Damian Priest vs. Finn Bálor

Women’s World Championship

Liv Morgan vs. Rhea Ripley

(with "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio suspended above the ring in a shark cage)

Cody Rhodes & Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu

WWE Women’s Championship

Nia Jax vs. Bayley

Hell in a Cell

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

While Tommy and I agree these are solid matches, we also feel this is more of a filler event to carry the WWE to the next big event, Survivor Series. (While Crown Jewel is next, Survivor Series is one of the four big WWE PLEs.)

Going into Bad Blood, I lead Tommy by four wins this year and have retaken the lifetime lead by one year. Bad Blood gives us five chances to change the stats, but I never spoil our picks here. You have to watch the video to learn what we predict.

Make your picks and then watch our video to see how yours compares with ours. Then enjoy Bad Blood on Saturday and return to theeverydayfan.com for recaps and more wrestling coverage.

On the Beat with Barry Horowitz

Wrestling fans of the 1980s-2000s certainly know Barry Horowitz. Now, thanks to Wrestling is My Gimmick: My Life on the Wrong Side of the Three-Count, Barry's upcoming autobiography, we can all learn a lot more about him.

The title is a wink at his role in the WWF. Barry often made others look great, while he absorbed a loss. Barry not only accepted his role in the WWF, he embraced it. Not everyone can be the champ. Th Harlem Globetrotters need the Washington Generals. Many WWF wrestlers needed men like Barry.

While he mostly played that role in the WWF, he did have several big wins, including beating Lanny Poffo and Bodydonna Skip (Chris Candido), among others. He also won titles in other companies.

In our interview, Barry discusses all of this. He is completely at peace with his career. He is too humble to outwardly say he is very proud of what he did, but I am sure he is and rightly so. en like Barry were the backbone of the companies back then. Maybe Barry was ahead of his time. Either way, there is no bitterness from Barry

I really enjoyed this interview. Barry looks so relaxed and was very positive. It was a real pleasure talking to him.

You can watch the interview at On the Beat with Barry Horowitz. Also, look for his book on Amazon or any major book seller.

Pinfalls: WWE Bash in Berlin

WWE presents Bash in Berlin streaming live on today, at noon CST on Peacock. Airing from Uber Arena, it will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands.

On Pinfalls: WWE Bash in Berlin, my The Johngy “OR ELSE” Podcast partner Tommy Else and I delve into the match card. We analyze the matches, predict the outcomes and discuss possible aftermaths. For the year, I'm up three wins on Tommy, but lifetime, we are tied.

There are five matches on the card:

Undisputed WWE Championship

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens

World Heavyweight Championship

Gunther (c) vs. Randy Orton

Mixed Tag Team Match

Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley vs. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio & Liv Morgan

Strap Match

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

The Unholy Union (c) vs. Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill

Make your picks and watch Pinfalls: WWE Bash in Berlin to see how they compare with ours. Enjoy WWE Bash in Berlin and check back theeverydayfan.com for recaps and more wrestling content.

Pinfalls: WWE SummerSlam 2024

Pinfalls returns with a deep dive into WWE SummerSlam 2024. My The Johngy “OR ELSE” podcast partner Tommy Else and I are joined by Joseph White.

Owner and operator of Whitney Collectibles in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Joseph brings a wealth of wrestling knowledge to Pinfalls. One look around his Whitney Collectibles stores reveals his love of wrestling. We'll see how that translates to picking winners.

Emanating from Cleveland Browns Stadium, this is the 37th SummerSlam. Cleveland previously hosted SummerSlam 1996, but from the Gund Arena (now Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse). Hosting the Premium Live Event (I hate that term) will be The Miz.

SummerSlam 2024 features seven matches, including six title matches and one other match with huge title implications.

Undisputed WWE Championship

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Solo Sikoa

World Heavyweight Championship

Damian Priest (c) vs. Gunther

Women’s World Championship 

Liv Morgan (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

WWE Women’s Championship 

Bayley (c) vs. Nia Jax

United States Championship

Logan Paul (c) vs. LA Knight

Intercontinental Championship 

Sami Zayn (c) vs. Bron Breakker

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (With Special Guest Referee Seth "Freakin" Rollins)

I never give out spoilers, but I will admit there was a lot more agreement on these matches than I expected, especially with three people analyzing the matches. We did have some different ideas on the path to our predictions and the aftermath of matches. We never discuss any of this prior to recording.

Make your picks and then watch the video here for our opinions. Enjoy SummerSlam Saturday. Check theeverydayfan.com for more wrestling coverage.