Backstage Pass By David Sahadi

If I were to rank the opening titles of WWE Monday Night Raw, from its entire thirty-three year history, high at the top of such a list would be the late-1995 open which had a ring set up on the roof of WWF's then headquarters - Titan Towers. The action-packed intro saw the top stars of that period wrestle in the abnormal setting.

Speaking of peculiar surroundings - the intro from a few years after that, with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin walking into a derelict warehouse accompanied to the sound of sirens before the Raw is War theme tune fully kicks in, would be right up there close to the 1995 sequence.

Both of those intros came from the mind of David Sahadi, who worked for the World Wrestling Federation between 1992 and 2003 as one of the main behind the scenes personnel on the production arm of the company.

Sahadi has recently published a book about his life and career in the crazy world of professional wrestling. 

Backstage Pass: Tales from Behind the Squared Circle covers Sahadi's early roots working for NBC Sports right through to his recent gig working as an executive producer for Court Bauer's Major League Wrestling.

As a huge fan of the WWF/E's content from the 1980s right through to this very day, I found the pages of Sahadi's time working for the McMahon Empire to be the most intriguing.

Before reading the autobiography, I came across a few Good Reads and NetGalley reviews which suggests Sahadi comes across as boastful of his career achievements. One went so far as to point out that he bragged about people crying at some of the videos he produced for the then WWF.

I feel it necessary to add something to those suggestions after reading Sahadi's book for myself.

Yes, I did find that Sahadi boosted himself up at certain points in his book. However, there are moments which capture a humble Sahadi. The main example is how he expresses his deep love for his father. You can see the man just by the tribute he shares of his times with his father. Those struck me.

As for the part about how Sahadi appears to make people emotional - the part in the book which highlights that the most is when Sahadi recounts Vince McMahon's reaction to the video the director produced in 1998 which contained a plethora of old school wrestlers from an age earlier. Filmed mostly in black-and-white, the promo has the old school wrestlers talk about their days contrasted with the styles of the new period. 

It truly is one of my favourite wrestling adverts ever, so I was fascinated to learn that it was Sahadi's idea. 

Sahadi writes that Vince McMahon broke down in tears after first witnessing the video. This reader wasn't in the room, but - I have a strong opinion the author was not using licence when he painted this scene of McMahon's reaction.

I believe it happened considering the people in the video are from Vince McMahon's father's era.

Another fascinating part of Sahadi's story is how he witnessed the rise of Dwayne Johnson from a humble third generation wrestler having left college football to pursue a career in the WWF to becoming a Hollywood star.

The professional relationship between the wrestler and director didn't end well.

Sahadi details how Johnson became difficult to work with once he became a movie star. Sahadi felt disrespected by The Rock's lax attitude to getting a film project shot in the limited time he was available.

Following his departure from WWE, Sahadi eventually found employment from then opposition: TNA Wrestling.

Sahadi shares his experiences with TNA. He was there for a lot of the biggest moments in that company's history.  Going from memory: the Hard Justice 2006 fire, Kurt Angle .vs. Samoa Joe, Hulk Hogan's TNA era, the failed Monday Night Wars II experiment, the Vince Russo controversies and more are all spotlighted in this memoir. 

I've grown used to reading professional wrestling content from wrestlers, promoters and others within the industry. With Backstage Pass, it was unique to read about the topic from the viewpoint of someone who worked in production.

A professional wrestling autobiography with a view from a different lens, if you will.

⭐⭐⭐/5

Thanks to ECW Press for giving me an advanced reading copy of Backstage Pass: Tales from Beyond the Squared Circle. The title was released on March 10 2026.

Order Backstage Pass by David Sahadi from Amazon UK

Riding Coke's Nostalgia Train, I Try Cherry Float Coca-Cola

Look what I tried last night.

It's the new offering from Coca-Cola to the UK market.

Cherry Float absolutely intrigued me, when I first learned of the flavour''s existence. That's because Cherry Coke is my favourite version of Coca-Cola. I also enjoy Vanilla Coke. So, it was more than a win-win to see that this flavour is doing the rounds in this country of ours.

Upon opening the can, I sensed a smell of cherries very unlike the strong cherry aroma those who take whiffs of Cherry Coke upon popping open a can or twisting a bottle get (I hope you know what I mean). 

The best way I can describe the aroma is it was like glacé cherries. Yes, it was like those. A rich, mature cherry scent.

It didn't last long, however. Vanilla came along and overpowered my sniffing senses.

Drinking from the can offered a similar experience.

On the first sip, I sensed the cherry. On my second go, I caught the vanilla. That cycle repeated many times. 

Cherry.

Vanilla.

Cherry.

Vanilla.

To be fair, it was quite an experience. A collision of my two favourite Coca-Cola flavours in what seemed like a fair rotation. 

Coca-Cola states that the drink 'blends bold cherry and creamy vanilla' and is 'designed to mimic a nostalgic ice cream soda fountain drink'.

I can't answer for the nostalgia part of that mission statement. I can when it comes to the vanilla flavour being creamy and especially for the boldness of the cherry.

This a winner. 

Will I try it again? Of course - I bought an eight pack. But, even if I had only one sample can, I would go out of my way to have more.

It was a refreshing collision of tastes. I hope it sticks around for a while.

Chuck Norris Passes Away

On Thursday night, I read a report which stated that Chuck Norris had taken ill and was then hit with yesterday's news that he had passed away.

I can remember exactly when - and where - I was when I first came across Mr. Norris.

It was late summer of 1986. I was staying at a hotel in Greece. My father and I went to the film room at the complex and watched Delta Force.

I loved it.

Upon my return home, and for a chunk of years which followed, I went on a mission of my own. I caught other movies like the Delta Force sequel and the Missing in Action. 

Oh, and Firewalker. I liked that one a lot.

I even had a signed autograph from him around those few years of my childhood.

I would later be surprised when I noticed him as the bad guy in Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon. As I wrote back in July of 2023, that's my top Lee flick.

It was cool to see Chuck Norris involved with one of my other favourite things when he was shown in the audience of WrestleMania VII. However, his most famous WWF involvement was when he worked as a special enforcer for the Yokozuna versus The Undertaker casket match which was the main attraction of the WWF Survivor Series in 1994.

As a fan of The Expendables movies, it was also fun to see him pop up in the second movie in the franchise. It would turn out to be a farewell because I cannot remember seeing him in anything since.

Frank And Spidey

I am not as all-in on Marvel TV and movies as I could be. I had no idea there is a new Spider-Man movie on the horizon, so I was like 'oh, okay' when I read that the trailer was set to come out earlier this week.

I didn't go out of my way to watch it. My nephew asked if I had seen it and I responded with a 'not yet'. 

'Well, I'm surprised seeing as one of your favourite Marvel characters is in it.' was his reply.

'Who?!'

'The Punisher.'

Okay. Business has picked up.

The best thing about Spidey and The Punisher being together in a movie is this: my first-ever introduction to Frank Castle was through an association with Spider-Man in a series of comic books.

Back in 1988, when I was staying with my American relatives, I would be treated to a bunch of Marvel publications whenever we'd visit the bookstore on the air force base. This bookshop was where residents would buy newspapers and there were rows-and-rows of American publications.

One of the series of comics was called Marvel Tales. In the storyline run I found myself reading, Spider-Man and The Punisher teamed up to take on the villains. I believe I have at least three issues of that particular title. I've added an image of two covers from a Google search. 

I've written about the base's bookshop many times in the past. I most recently mentioned the store when I pointed out I had bought a magazine with a feature about the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie in it. 

As I finished that last paragraph, I thought to myself 'how funny' considering Dolph Lundgren played He-Man in Masters of the Universe (1987) and would later go on to be Frank Castle in a not well received Punisher movie from 1989 (you might not be surprised to know I loved that film!). 

The Punisher we have in 2026 is the same one we've witnessed in the Netflix Marvel TV Universe and has also appeared in Daredevil: Born Again on Disney Plus.

I like John Berthnal's version of Frank Castle. I very much am looking forward to seeing Frank Castle teaming up with Spidey almost thirty-eight years after I first saw them do so in ink.

My younger self would have loved the idea of those two in a movie. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to be released in the USA on July 31st 2026.

The Visitor

I had a visit from an old friend this morning.

While I was out the backyard, a cat I've known since the pandemic came by. They used to show up and cautiously sit near me during those crappy summer days of 2020. It took  a while, but it eventually came closer and allowed me to pet it.

Nowadays, it pops up out of nowhere, has a chat with me, takes some treats and then vanishes. 

I rarely see this cat across the winter months. I look out for it, though. But, often to no avail. Now that the simmer is on its way (it's quite warm outside as I write this), I am sure I'll see a lot more.

The cat has aged quite a lot since 2020. Has gained a lot of weight and now owns a bit of a tear in one of it's ears. 

They've seen better days. But - haven't we all!?

At The Pace...

I have been working some things out in regards to how Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual 2026 is coming along.

The main content of the book is getting there. At the pace I'm keeping, that part should be complete by March 25th. 

I then have a few other ideas I want to cover. New ideas at that. I obviously don't know how long those will take because I haven't delved into the subjects I plan to write about.

Anyway, I aim to have everything ready for the week the NFL releases the 2026 schedules. That's when everything will pick back up and I'll have to put everything in order.

The bottom line is this - it's getting there.  

And it will be out sometime over the summer. 

I Try A McDonald's McGriddle For The First Time

It's late on Monday March 16th '26 as I start this post. By tomorrow, which will be today (or later!) when you read this, I would have finally tried something I've wanted to tick off my fast food bucket list.

I first became aware of McDonald's McGriddles in one of the chats I had with my friend, Vicki, a long time ago. I'd make a guess it was around the time when McDonald's brought back the Breakfast Wrap after the lockdowns. Vick asked me something along the lines of 'have you ever tried a McGriddle?'

I had no clue what they were. Vick explained they're a breakfast sandwich with the food contained between 'maple cakes'. I don't know why I quoted 'maple cakes' (there, I did it again!). I cannot recall if that's how Vick worded it. However, upon doing my own research, I concluded they sounded very intriguing. Kind of like hard pancakes (scones? biscuits?) Whatever it was, I wanted to try one!

A few weeks back, I came across a video on YouTube. The man in front of the camera ran through a handful of new products set to be a part of the new McDonald's menu.

McGriddles are set to debut here in the UK for a limited time. Starting in a few hours from when this post sees the light of day, in fact. 

I'm ordering one on DAY ONE. I have to.

It has been a long time since I ordered McDonald's for breakfast. It looks like June, so would have been when Vick was still with us. I would have loved to have been able to break the news as soon as I found out these items are finally making their way here. 

What I'm going to do is let this post go live at midnight and then update it once I've had the breakfast.

If all goes to plan, you'll witness my initial thoughts immediately below the timecard.

I woke up earlier than I would have liked. The first thing I did was wonder which day of the week it was. I initially thought it was the weekend and then realised it was Tuesday. It then dawned on me 'Ahh, it's the McGriddle today.'

After figuring out the day, I checked both the UberEats and Just Eats apps to see if the new product was available on the menu. 

The good news - it is.

My ordered arrived a little after 8:30am.

We ordered three Sausage and Egg McGriddle meals. I noticed a strong whiff of coffee when the courier handed over the bags. I thought it had spilled. Anyway, I wanted to mention the coffee because - as soon as I put that bag aside (it hadn't spilled) - I was left with the one containing the food. The aroma of maple was strong before I had even opened up the bag. It would have been the first sensation I experienced at the handoff had one of us not ordered coffee today.

The maple scent was even more empowering once I unwrapped the product. As you can see above, it has the M stamped into it.

Before I continue, I'd like to draw attention to something I wrote in the first part of today's post.

I mentioned the word 'maple cakes' because, when Vicki described them to me, I had a vision of the sandwich holding items between two pancakes. That imagination was thrown off a few days ago when I was talking about McGriddles in a chatroom. One of the users stated that they were 'like a biscuit', so I began to explore the thought they were more like scones rather than the pancakes I had assumed them to be for the past six plus years.

It turns out my initial guess, prompted by Vick's explanation, was spot on. They lean heavily more to being a thick pancake rather than a biscuit (scone!).

So - I suppose - that's what it felt like to eat one. Two maple-flavoured thick pancakes with sausage, egg and a slice of cheese.

Over the years, one of my favourite McDonald's breakfast meals has been sausages and pancakes. I never really went for the McMuffin. Only when I felt like a change. It has either  been the sausages and pancakes or a breakfast wrap/roll.

The McGriddle seems like a collision between the sausages and pancakes meal and some of the contents of the other breakfast meals I go for.

A nice collision. Sweet and savoury.

I will surely have a McDonald's McGriddle again. Maybe not during this current run, but when - or if - the company brings it back in the future.

Vick was right to point the McGriddle out to me. I did enjoy it. 

The product took its time to get here. Apparently, the McGriddle has been around for twenty-three years.

I can now officially tick a McDonald's McGriddle off the list of things Vick shone a spotlight on during our many chats over the years. I still have a lot of other things I'd like to try out. Such as a Little Caesar's pizza or one of those Frosty drinks from Wendy's.  I hold out hope those franchises branch out local to me. They're apparently on the rise in England, so I hope they eventually find their way across the bridge.

I bought a 'fountain Coke', as Vick called them, with today's breakfast. I've left it in the fridge to have later. When I do, I'll toast her.