History: Main / WrestleCrap

-->''"The Very Worst of [[ProfessionalWrestling Pro Wrestling]]!"''

The brainchild of "The Real Deal" RD Reynolds and "The Worldwide Menace" Merle Vincent, '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com WrestleCrap]]''' was created as a "hall of shame" for ProfessionalWrestling -- a place where they could stretch their comedic muscles by poking fun at the pseudo-sport. It has since grown into wrestling fandom's anti-SeriousBusiness (or so they wish), a place where people can remind ourselves that wrestling is inherently silly in the first place and shouldn't be taken seriously. In short, it's the conscience of the Internet Wrestling Community.

Each week, the [=WrestleCrap=] staff post an induction, usually written by either RD or his protege Triple Kelly (or Merle Vincent, before his suicide) that tears one of wrestling's stranger or sillier gimmicks, feuds, or storylines apart; they essentially perform the digital equivalent of a pantsing on their given subject, with whimsical prose and crude humor. The previous three weeks' inductions are posted as well, in addition to three rotating "Best of [=WrestleCrap=]" entries re-posted via requests on the forums (full archives used to be online, but were taken down due to bandwidth costs).

[=WrestleCrap=] has grown greatly since its inception, and has come to host the following additional features:
* '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/rdandblade/ The RD and Blade Show]] (formerly [=WrestleCrap Radio=])''': A podcast featuring RD and Blade Braxton musing on wrestling and life in general (with the occasional interview).
* '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/icfyt/ It Came From YouTube]]''': Where the gang takes a look at a weird and wacky video from wrestling's past.
* '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/jobbers/ Jobber of the Week]]''': Blade Braxton's weekly salute to [[{{Jobber}} the men who lose for a living]]. Soon to be accompanied by the '''Parts Unknown Yearbook''', which focuses on all the weirdness that came from PartsUnknown.
* '''Burgan's Gimmick Table''': Derek Burgan's look at the wrestling merchandise that never was. Retired as of the 2013 site redesign.
* '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/sbt/ Someone Bought This!]]''': A look at the wrestling merchandise that ''was'', but should not have been.
* '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/more/rewriting/ Rewriting the Book]]''': Jed Shaffer's AlternateHistory FanFic series that explores how wrestling's past might have gone differently with a key nudge in the opposite direction from time to time.
* '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/category/headlies/ WrestleCrap Headlies]]''': In a parody of various less reputable wrestling newz sites, [=WrestleCrap=] decides to take a crack at [[NewsParody making up their own wrestling news]].

[=WrestleCrap=] also gives out an annual Gooker Award in the first couple of months of a new year to the most horrid thing to happen in wrestling in the previous year. The award is named after Wrestling/TheGobbledyGooker, which was possibly the worst thing ever in the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Federation]]: they hyped the hatching of a giant egg for months going into ''Survivor Series 1990'', where it finally hatched...and gave us Hector Guerrero in a bad turkey suit dancing with "Mean" Gene Okerlund (yeah, it wasn't pretty). With the exception of the 2001 and 2002 winners (which were chosen by Reynolds himself), all of the winners have been decided by polling the site's visitors. The list of winners of the Gooker Award is practically a list of the worst modern pro wrestling angles ever:

* 2000: David Arquette, WCW Champion.
* 2001: The [=InVasion=].
* 2002: The Katie Vick debacle.
* 2003: Al Wilson, Torrie Wilson's father.
* 2004: The 2004 Raw Diva Search.
* 2005: JimRoss' (kayfabe) firing and the resulting colonoscopy skit.
* 2006: WWE's exploitation of EddieGuerrero following his death, a.k.a. "Eddiesploitation".
* 2007: Hornswoggle is revealed to be VinceMcMahon's son.
* 2008: MikeAdamle's stint in WWE.
* 2009: The Chavo Guerrero/Hornswoggle feud.
* 2010: [[{{TNA}} The NEW Monday Night Wars]].
* 2011: All things MichaelCole.
* 2012: TNA's Claire Lynch angle.

Not only has [=WrestleCrap=] become a popular online destination for wrestling fans, but its name itself has entered the SmartMark lexicon. It's also gathered quite a following inside the business, as several wrestlers have written in to say how much they love the site, including no less than ChrisJericho. John Tenta, known to fans as "Earthquake", gave the site an exclusive interview and wrote the foreword to RD's first book.

Book? Yes, there have been two books based on the site -- ''[=WrestleCrap=]: The Worst of Wrestling'' and ''The [=WrestleCrap=] Book of Lists!'' -- and the notoriety gained from the site allowed RD to co-author the book, ''The Death of WCW''.

Every December, the site has posted inductions of some of the worst Christmas movies of all-time, including HulkHogan's ''Santa with Muscles'', ''SantaClausConquersTheMartians'', the Mexican movie version of ''SantaClaus'', a 1986 remake of the classic holiday operetta ''BabesInToyland'' (featuring Creator/DrewBarrymore, KeanuReeves, Pat Morita, and an actor named Gorgy Gress as Georgie Porgie with a cameltoe), and a Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}-as-a-murderous-Santa film called ''Film/SantasSlay''.

The site was redesigned in 2013 to become more of a blog format. In February 2013, Maffew of ''{{Botchamania}}'' became a regular contributor to the site, including debuting new Botchamanias there.
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!!This website provides examples of:

* AccentuateTheNegative
* TheAlcoholic: Blade in the early days, did the [=WrestleCrap=] Radio podcasts wasted. He's better now.
* ArchEnemy: Kent Jones, or any so-called [=YouTube=] "shooter"; they really look down on them.
** They also declared war on former wrestler Damien Demento, who took a shot at them in his [=YouTube=] videos.
*** RD has admitted that Damien Demento is no longer an arch enemy of the site and is now considered a great guy once they had talked to each other.
* AprilFoolsDay: Special episodes that would run under odd circumstances once a year. Very well could constitute {{Bizarro Episode}}s but RD and Blade do reference the episodes from time to time.
* AuthorAppeal: In this case, bad cinema. Every Christmas, RD spends an update or two dissecting terrible movies, with an annual tradition of inducting a horrible Christmas movie in lieu of a wrestling angle/gimmick.
** Occasionally applies to pro wrestling personalities; RD himself has said several times that he loves TrishStratus.
* BanOnPolitics: One of the major rules on the message board is to ''never'' discuss politics or religion, though the rule was temporarily relaxed during the 2008 Presidential Election.
* ButtMonkey: Blade is the regular victim of potshots from the rest of the staff, including Triple Kelly. When someone makes a reference to (filthy) hobos, a remark that "Blade isn't here to defend himself!" will usually follow.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: While they never really "defeated" VinceRusso, RD and the site were certainly critical of him, but he has been on their podcast, and quite cordial, twice. Once for an interview over how he got in the business and why he did what he did, and another to talk about anything out of the oridinary. 
* DescriptionCut: Twice in the "Eddiesploitation" induction,. First, after Chavo turns heel on Rey Mysterio:
-->"Well, at least they didn’t do something really dumb, like make Eddie’s widow (Vickie) a heel or something."
-->''(2 weeks later)''
-->"So now Vickie Guerrero turns heel, clobbering Rey with a steel chair."
** Then, immediately after:
--->"At least kids weren’t involved."
--->''(2 weeks later)''
--->"Rey’s son Dominick appears on WWE TV. Remember Dominick? The kid that Eddy claimed was his own son because Rey was impotent? [[SarcasmMode What a great angle that was]]."
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Gay Popeye and Angry Jim Ross.
* FootnoteFever: The occasional [[color:green:"Note from RD"]] appears in inductions done by someone other than him.
* {{GIRL}}: The message boards were pranked by the the "female" poster "Miss Kendrick" in 2009, and by [[http://realwrestlecrap.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=viewprofile&user=starwolf "Starwolf"]] (who was dubbed "Starwang" by some posters) in 2007. [[http://realwrestlecrap.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=offtopic&action=display&thread=226124&page=1#5060629 This post]] pretty much describes it:
-->'''ravenm''': "Pretend to be a girl. Starwolf, Miss Kendrick, etc. Everyone will hate you..."
* FunWithAcronyms - "'''N'''athaniel '''E'''dward '''R'''odham '''D'''avis,""NERD" a none to subtle shot at IWC who worship TNAImpact.
* GrumpyOldMan: Mic Check, the TNA correspondant is an old man who has lived forever and working in the radio market.
** Angry Jim Ross.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: When the 2004 Raw Diva Search won the Gooker Award, RD noted that his fanbase was, primarily, males who (presumably) enjoyed women. But that didn't stop them from voting the Diva Search as the worst of the year, because when you tune into a wrestling show, the first thing you assume you'll see is...well, ''wrestling''.
** He has mentioned in other inductions how wrestling has the uncanny ability to take some of the most gorgeous women and make them almost unwatchable. He's not sure how they do that, but they do.
* HeyItsThatGuy: During [=WrestleCrap=] Radio's "Co-Host Contest" auditions, the first person to get an audition was future Website/YouTube ranter and self-proclaimed "D-list internet 'celebrity'" [[ReactionAndReview Hellsing920]].
* [[Memes/ProfessionalWrestling Memetic Mutation]]: Almost all of the [[ForcedMeme (forced) wrestling memes]] were born on their MessageBoard (Lex Luger, Dennis Stamp, etc.)
** Basically, their message board is one of the pro wrestling equivalents of [[{{Imageboards}} 4Chan]], the other one being 420chan's /wooo/. {{Batista}} was (and likely still is) their Photoshop poster child.
** ForcedMeme: In 2009, RD tried to force "Basketball Jones" (Triple Kelly's nickname for Batista) as a meme, even going as far as to [[FunWithAutocensors filter Batista's name]] as "Basketball Jones" on the original forums. It failed.
* MessageBoard: After much demand, [[http://newwrestlecrap.proboards.com/index.cgi The Craphole]] was created on May 2011, around half a year after the website and its old message board (now [[http://officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi The Freakin' Awesome Network Forums]]) parted ways in October 2010.
* NewsParody: The "Headlies" section.
* PunnyName: Mike "Mic" Check. A radio DJ who rambles about the good old days and whether he would play well in yourmarket. Almost all spellings of the name is "Mike" and not "Mic".
* {{Retcon}}: Stubby's death. He was killed in a BBQ fire, but brought back, somehow.
** Well, it was pretty obvious that he'd be back at some point since Blade repeatedly mentioned that they never found the body. Granted, he appeared again randomly and it took several appearances before they asked him if he wasn't supposed to be dead, at which point he spun a double entendre-laden story about being snatched by a beaver.
* ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma: In the induction for TNA's Last Rites Match from 2007, on the matter of [[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/induction%20files/lastrites/lastrites1.mp3 Sting describing death as a "choice" where one of those choices is, in fact, life]], RD calls the meaning and exact point of Sting's remarks a "riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a crummy TNA storyline".
* RoguesGallery: The TNA Correspondants, Johnny 6, Johnny 4, Megatrolla, Angry Jim Ross, Viewing Booth Bill Cosby, Nathaniel, Honky Tonk Mailman, Stubby, Mic Check and others.
* RunningGag: After writing an induction about Man Mountain Rock, he of the WWF guitar, RD began using an image of him shrugging complete with the caption "Yeah, I don't know either, dude." Usually when RD or someone else would ask a question regarding one weird moment in the induction.
** Officially now an OverusedRunningGag after 7 consecutive appearances. Fan demand brought him back for an 8th.
*** By this point, he's become something of a mascot.
**** He's definitely a mainstay now, aside from his induction he's had ''20 consecutive appearances...and counting''.
** After writing an induction on her, RD now uses an image of a happy Tiffany, former General Manager of WWECW with the caption "YAY!" to show fake enthusiasm or joy.
* SecondHandStorytelling: Blade always has some kind of story about his childhood friend Don.........Don Mason. Such stories include having Don using the date rape drug on himself at a concert, taking a trip to a farm and seeing a man have sex with a horse, molesting Cabbage Patch Kid dolls, among other wonderful topics.
* SelfDeprecation: Remember, folks, no matter what sort of crap you actually bought, you'll never be as big a dork as RD and Blade, who shelled out $200 for Katie Vick's cheerleading outfit -- signed by TripleH.
* SitcomArchNemesis: The /wooo/ board on [=420chan=].
* SpeakOfTheDevil: "Speaking of" segues turn up in the inductions and radio shows.
* Squick: Some of Blade's Don........Don Mason stories. See SecondHandStorytelling.
* TakeThat!: The character Nintendo John was made specifically to dig at JohnCena who one night came out on ''Raw'' and made numerous references to Nintendo games to crowd cheers. Any time Nintendo John would even mention Nin-Ten-Do!, applause would play.
* ThatOtherWiki: RD had a huge disdain for Wikipedia. This disdain was due to some claims the site made which he considered to be some of the most outrageous things he has ever read and for declaring that he has died three times. He has since let up.
* WestminsterChimes: The sound effect used for the short-lived Clocktrolla device on the ''[=WrestleCrap=] Radio'' podcast.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen / WhatIf: The Rewriting the Book section of the website is this, pondering how a key moment in wrestling could have gone what how it would have changed the course of the company and careers it affected.

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