Pro Wrestling Forever Podcast

What is the most beautiful championship belt in professional wrestling history?Professor Degree and special guest Kurt Jangle are opening the championship belt vault and judging wrestling gold on one thing: how damn good it looks.From universally beloved classics like the WCW Big Gold Belt, WWF Winged Eagle Championship and NWA “Ten Pounds of Gold” to the white-strap Intercontinental Championship, IWGP Heavyweight V4 and some considerably deeper cuts, we're celebrating the artistry behind wrestling's greatest prizes.Along the way, we dig into the history, designers and stories behind championships from WWE, WCW, AEW, NJPW, NWA, ROH, AWA, CWA and NXT — including classic territory belts, modern masterpieces and a few choices that may require some explaining.Which belt looked like it belonged around the waist of the most important wrestler in the world? Which designs have aged beautifully? And which underrated pieces of championship gold deserve a lot more love?It's wrestling history, belt-maker nerdery and extremely strong opinions about gold plates attached to leather.Welcome to Pro Wrestling Forever.Follow/subscribe to the podcast so you never miss another trip through the people, promotions, matches, gimmicks and wonderfully weird history of professional wrestling.

For more than 70 years, professional wrestling has been home to one particularly enduring character: the rich, arrogant, impeccably dressed heel who is absolutely certain he’s better than you.Professor Degree and Blade Daily continue their exploration of pro wrestling archetypes with The Aristocrat.From “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers establishing a template that would influence generations, to Ric Flair transforming wealth, style and superiority into an art form, to MJF bringing that same sneering arrogance into modern wrestling, the fellas trace how the archetype has evolved across wrestling history.Where did the Aristocrat gimmick begin? What separates an Aristocrat from your garden-variety wrestling jerk? Why has the character remained so effective for generations? And who did it best?Grab your finest robe, pour yourself something unnecessarily expensive, and join us for another trip through wrestling history.Pro Wrestling Forever — celebrating wrestling history, one ridiculous argument at a time.

Does Beyond the Mat still hold up 27 years later?Professor Degree and Blade Daily revisit Barry Blaustein’s landmark 1999 professional wrestling documentary and discover that Terry Funk was only 53 when they originally watched him and thought he was approximately 900 years old. This development has caused considerable distress.The fellas revisit the unforgettable stories of Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Droz, along with Dennis Stamp, Michael Modest, Tony Jones, Roland Alexander, New Jack, Paul Heyman and the strange collection of wrestlers and wrestling personalities Blaustein captured at wildly different stages of their careers.How differently does Jake Roberts’ story hit knowing what came afterward? Is Mick Foley’s infamous Royal Rumble 1999 match with The Rock harder to watch today? Does knowing Droz’s future completely change his scenes? And, as middle-aged wrestling fans themselves, do Professor Degree and Blade Daily finally understand Terry Funk a little better?Then comes the bigger question: is Beyond the Mat still special?In 1999, genuine backstage access to WWF, ECW and independent wrestling felt almost forbidden. Today, wrestling fans are surrounded by podcasts, shoot interviews, social media, documentaries and behind-the-scenes content. Has 25+ years of wrestling pulling back its own curtain diminished what made Beyond the Mat extraordinary — or does Blaustein’s deeply human approach make the film even more remarkable today?Plus: a celebration of the late Barry Blaustein, the lasting legacy of one of professional wrestling’s most important documentaries and, obviously, Dennis Stamp.He’s not booked.Pro Wrestling Forever is a celebration of wrestling history, hosted by Professor Degree and Blade Daily.

Did we just watch the night that changed AEW forever?For this special SHUT UP FOREVER, Professor Degree, Blade Daily, and Books and Bodyslams bring Pro Wrestling Forever and Sit Down Shut Up Mark Out together to look back at an extraordinary All In 2026 — and ask where it belongs among the greatest shows in AEW history.The defining moment came at the top of the card, where Will Ospreay finally defeated Kenny Omega to become AEW World Champion. After years of their careers intersecting, was this the moment Omega officially passed the torch and Ospreay became the new ace of All Elite Wrestling?Wembley had plenty more history to make.Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. returned. Austin Creed and Kofi arrived as The New Level. Mercedes Moné defeated Willow Nightingale to capture the AEW Women's World Championship. Andrade continued his remarkable resurgence, Darby Allin and Kevin Knight attempted to destroy each other, and Kazuchika Okada added another championship to his legendary résumé.Professor, Blade, and Books break down the matches, surprises, returns and wonderfully ridiculous moments from Wembley — but they also take the longer view. What did All In tell us about where AEW has been, where it's going, and the stars who will define its next era?Because great wrestling shows give us something to talk about the next morning.The truly special ones give us something to argue about for the next 20 years.This is SHUT UP FOREVER: AEW All In 2026.

AEW doesn't have a Hall of Fame…so naturally, Pro Wrestling Forever decided to build one.Professor Degree and Blade Daily sit down to answer a deceptively complicated question: What should an AEW Hall of Fame actually look like?Before anybody gets a plaque, the fellas have to make the rules. When should the Hall of Fame open? Does a wrestler need to be retired? How much of someone's career needs to have happened in AEW? Should accomplishments in NJPW, ROH, CMLL and other promotions count? And should Ring of Honor have its own Hall of Fame entirely?Then comes the fun part: who actually gets in?Sting and Mr. Brodie Lee present very different but compelling cases. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Hangman Page and Hikaru Shida helped define AEW's history. Cody Rhodes helped create the company—but left. Jay Briscoe never wrestled an AEW match. And then there's the wonderfully uncomfortable question of CM Punk.Plus: tag teams and factions, contributors like Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross, the danger of inducting too many people too quickly, and the future stars already building first-ballot résumés.By the end, Professor Degree and Blade must stop arguing long enough to establish the rules and choose their inaugural AEW Hall of Fame class.Because wrestling history is serious business.Even when the Hall of Fame we're arguing about doesn't exist.Pro Wrestling Forever — wrestling history, nostalgia, debates, what-ifs and all the wonderfully weird stuff that made us fans in the first place.

AEW has always wanted professional wrestling to feel a little more like a real sport. But what would happen if they took that idea even further?This week on Pro Wrestling Forever, Professor Degree and Blade Daily look at AEW's sports-like presentation and ask what the company could borrow from baseball, football and other sports to create deeper history, traditions and lore.Remember AEW's win-loss records and rankings? Those were only the beginning.What about career records and all-time statistical leaders? Baseball fans know the legends who lead in home runs, hits, strikeouts and wins because those numbers turn history into mythology. Could professional wrestling do the same?The fellas brainstorm the statistics AEW could actually track: career victories, championship wins, successful title defenses, tournament records, winning streaks, main-event appearances, submission victories and more.Imagine an AEW World Champion entering a match one defense away from an all-time record. Or a wrestler entering the Continental Classic with the most tournament victories in company history. Suddenly, matches from five or ten years ago aren't just old results — they're part of an ongoing record book.And statistics are only one piece of the conversation.Professor Degree and Blade explore the traditions, milestones, presentation choices and historical touchstones AEW could establish today to give future generations of fans their own wrestling mythology.Because wrestling history isn't just remembering what happened.It's giving fans a reason to argue about it forever.Pro Wrestling Forever is a celebration of wrestling history, fandom and all the wonderfully weird details that make professional wrestling worth obsessing over.