Robbie E. Exclusive

Our generous and tireless contributor Jim from Chicago emailed me this set of new Robbie E (formerly Rob Eckos) photos which he took on Nov. 12 at Villa Park, Illinois. I'll let Jim explain what happened: "TNA Impact star Robbie E made a surprise appearance on WrestleRage IX and insisted on a "warm-up" match before his scheduled Pay-Per-View. The owner of POWW came out and told him to get lost. While Robbie E pummeled the owner, regional champion Brawn The Lumberjack came out to challenge and pin Robbie E." Better luck next time, Robbie. Thanks to Jim for these amazing photos.

Catching Up With Brett

What has Brett Idol (formerly Brett Barnes) been up to recently? Why, wrestling of course. Here he is in a bout for PWA which took place on Nov. 12 in Clear Water, Texas. Congratulations to Brett for winning the match. (Photos by Old School Mark)

Who's the bear referee?

Paul Roma Gets A Hug

A bearhug that is. Watch late 80s/1990s musclestud Paul Roma being squeezed by a beefy Russian heel here.

Tanahashi, Is That You?

I found this match on YouTube that features a hunky Japanese wrestler fighting a slightly older opponent, however both combatants were not identified...or at least they weren't identified in English. I turned to Google Translate and found out that the Japanese characters that accompany this clip say -- and I haven't edited this -- "Rookie miss the days of Tanahashi." So what I'd like to know is if the hunky young rookie  in this match is Hiroshi Tanahashi before he became one of Japan's most popular mat stars. Can anyone verify this?

 Hiroshi Tanahashi (standing, left)? 

I see the similarity...but I can't be sure.

Tanahashi in 2011

Click on the label below to see older posts on Tanahashi.

Nationwide

A few readers wanted to know who the wrestlers in this photo from yesterday's 1200 post are.

The wrestlers are Uhaa Nation and Aaaron McCormick (sorry, I couldn't find any stats on them) and this photo is from CZW's "Night of Infamy X-Ultimatum" held in Philadelphia, PA on Nov. 12. Here are more pics from this "David vs. Goliath" match; not surprisingly, "Goliath" won. (Photos by Scott Finkelstein)

Uhaa Nation

Aaron McCormick

1200

For the 1200th post of Beefcakes of Wrestling, I'm going random. Here are unrelated pics I've culled for your enjoyment.

Brett Barnes (aka Brett Idol), right

Tommaso Ciampa, left

Thanks to Latinorazzler for emailing this image to me.

Blasts From The Pasts

Reader Bob.Seven emailed me these pics of four of pro wrestling's superstars from the past. If Scott Hall looks familiar, its because he made a bigger name for himself as Razor Ramon.

Scott Hall

Flyin' Brian Pillman

Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund

Conway On Display

Remember WWE's Rob Conway? He was one-half of the tag team Le Resistance with Sylvain Grenier (after Rene Dupree left). Rob is focusing on his bodybuilding career these days and, if I'm not mistaken, still wrestles in the independent scene every now and then. Here are pics of Rob competing in a recent physique competition (thanks to J for the link); I've also included some archive pics below.

Rob the Wrestler

With Sylvain Grenier and Rick Martell

Rob with his shirt on...

...and off.