Ted Turner And His Contribution To Pro Wrestling's 90s Boom

I took a screenshot of the Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan contract signing, from the build to their 1994 match at WCW Bash at the Beach, this morning. I then placed the image onto Microsoft Copilot and asked the AI assistant to make it more cartoony for this post.

I wasn't happy with one of the characters in the final result.

'Could you make the man in the middle look more like Ted Turner? He is the most important part of this scene.' was my instruction.

It came up with this.

And he was the most important figure in that image.

Had it not been for Ted Turner, Flair and Hogan wouldn't have had this PPV meeting. Heck, pro wrestling wouldn't be where it is today had it not been for Turner.

This scene played out three years after Ric Flair had left World Championship Wrestling and headed to the WWF for what - on paper - was the dream match of Flair versus Hulk Hogan. 

The pair did meet up in one-on-one matches. However, those took place on the house show circuit. Hogan, Flair and those clamouring for the dream encounter didn't get that PPV bout even though, for a period, it looked locked in for WrestleMania VIII.

In early 1993, Flair left the WWF to make a comeback for WCW. That seemingly left any hope of a Flair versus Hogan Pay-Per-View match quashed. 

A little over a year later, The Hulkster shocked the wrestling world by signing for Turner's World Championship Wrestling.

Hogan's first match for Turner's promotion was a shoo-in for the promotion. 

Ric Flair, for the WCW World Championship. at WCW Bash at the Beach 1994.

The Turner-Hogan-WCW relationship blossomed from there. It wasn't perfect sailing by any means. However, by the late summer of 1995, Ted Turner had greenlit a new live television programme for his wrestling company.

WCW Monday Nitro went head-to-head with the WWF's flagship series - Monday Night Raw. Thus began a battle which saw Nitro and Raw wrestle each other for eyeballs between '95 and 2001.

The WWF won in the end. But, there was a period when WCW was the better product dominating its competition in the ratings for eighty-three weeks within that near six-year war. 

Ted Turner passed away yesterday at the age of eighty-seven. 

When it comes to pro wrestling, his contribution is Hall of Fame worthy. In fact, I would always ensure his name was on my Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot when I used to be given a vote. I hope that Turner's passing now makes him a shoo-in for the 2026 class later this year. 

Turner's decisions, from a television standpoint, moved pro wrestling with the times. They're still evident today. 

If you're willing to look hard enough

'Mum, It's My New Number' Scam Text

I received one of those scam text messages claiming to be from an offspring the other day.

I've removed the phone number from the image to future proof it in case somebody ends up with it years from now. 

What they've done is sent the first text saying 'Mum, it's my new number'. I didn't reply for a few reasons. The main one being I'm not a mother. Nor will I ever be.

If I had responded, they would have told me they had lost their phone and that's why they're using a new number. They would then go on request monetary help due to some other calamity that has befallen them.

Sometimes, I have to shake off the devil on my shoulder telling me to respond. Doing so would open up my number to further scam texts. So - it's not worth it.

In For Another 'Silent Night' This Christmas

It looks like this year's Diet of Christmas Films could once again have a 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' theme.

In the 2025 edition of the Christmas Day posts, in which I list all the films I watched heading into December 25th, I pointed out I caught the 1984 horror movie - Silent Night, Deadly Night - as part of my viewing marathon.

It wasn't the only festive slasher I experienced in 2025.. I also caught its 1987 sequel. 

In the post, I teased the possibility of watching more films in the series because - according to the research I carried out in the midst of my binge sessions - I found FOUR more movies with at least three of those being follow-ups from the original.

But, that's not all. 

I missed something else. I learned something else over this past weekend.

There is a 2025 reboot of the first film and it's coming to Netflix a week from today.

I suppose the reason why Amazon had the 1984 movie so prominently positioned on the list of recommendations to me late last year is because of the existence of the new edition. According to the movie's poster, it was released in US cinemas on December 12 of 2025.

There's no doubt in my mind - I have to add this to the watchlist for the Christmas Day post.

This year's A Diet of Christmas Films will be the nineteenth edition. As usual, it's set to go live at 12am GMT on Christmas morning.

I Try A Couple Of The Mandalorian And Grogu Galactic Meals From Burger King

Seeing as it's Star Wars Day 2026, I thought I'd share that I had a couple of meals based on the new movie - The Mandalorian & Grogu - that's coming out later this month.

Burger King has one of the licenses and is offering a bunch of 'Galactic' themed meals that come with colour-changing cups.

I ordered a 'Galactic Chicken Royale' initially. It's similar to what you would usually get with this kind of burger: a crispy chicken breast patty and iceberg lettuce. However, on top of that, the Star Wars themed version also has crispy onions, melted cheese, a cheese sauce and... a green pickle ketchup!

It was very enjoyable, if I say so myself. It had a nice tang to it thanks to the green add-on. 

Here's the wrapping which covered the Chicken Royale. If you look closely, you might be able to see a bit of the green sauce beside The Manadalorian and Grogu.

I received the cup. There are four to collect. I haven't filled it with water to see it change colour, so the image below isn't that great. It does appear as though I have the version with Grogu on it, so that's not bad. The only other one I would want is of The Mandalorian himself.

Unless, of course, I went for all four for investment purposes!

Days later, I ordered another meal because Just Eat offered a fifty-percent deal. I thought I'd try Burger King once more opting for the 'Galactic Double Whopper Meal'.

That particular version of the Whopper contains the usual ingredients but they're also topped with the green pickle ketchup.

Annoyingly. they didn't give me a cup with that order. Therefore, I missed out on adding to the collection.

Cup calamities aside, the Chicken Royale meal was the best of the two. It offered more of a different take contrasted to its original version.

I close with one final comment.

I am wearing Mandalorian and Grogu socks as I write today's post.

May the 4th be with you!

HMV's Dream Cabinet Of Books

I woke up from a dream earlier this morning and, as I was doing so, I was met with a funny coincidence.

In the dream, HMV had set up a cabinet on the wall of my old bedroom. It worked like a mini bar but it contained books. Two books stood out from my recollection of the dream. The first was titled 'Tik-Tok' and had the exact image of Tik-Tok, from Disney's Return to Oz, on the cover. 

I figured out that the book was an autobiography of 'that guy from Return to Oz'. Before writing today's post, I looked the man's name up. I remembered he used to present Blue Peter when I was a child, but couldn't recall his name. 

It was Michael Sundin.

Back to the dream - The next book was the one I wanted the most. It was a tie-in of the Apple TV+ series - For All Mankind. I spent part of the dream trying to work out how to take the book from the shelf without having to pay for it. I was plotting to remove it, read it, and then place it back inside the mini bar bookshelf before HMV could find out it had been used.

I ended up picking the book up. It was a bit weird because it had a novel within a a ring binder (more like a Filofax, I suppose) and there was a section to colour in characters from the series.

And that's all I recall. I returned to Cardiff (not Oz!) and picked up my phone to check for any messages or emails. Once I got to the latter, I noticed Amazon had sent across its daily Kindle deals mailer. I opened it up and scrolled through the short list of titles going for 99p.

I came across one eBook and couldn't help but laugh out loud at the odds of seeing it today. 

'Tin Man' by Sarah Winman. This obviously has nothing to do with Oz other than sharing a similar name as one of the characters, along with Tik-Tok, in L. Frank Baum's fictional land.

Of all the mornings that book title could have came my way, it was the one immediately following a dream where I passed on reading one named 'Tik-Tok'.

What are the odds?!

I Try Sushi For The First Time

Here's something I will not be able to say within the next few minutes.

I have never eaten sushi before

I've always been wary of trying the Japanese food. However, over the past few weeks, I have talked myself into trying the sushi that's available in supermarkets' meal deals. Yes, I know this isn't proper sushi, but - for now (I should put a question mark around here)  - it's my gateway in.

Here's what I've bought. It's a mixture of teriyaki chicken and hoisin duck sushi. Don't forget, it's a little over four months since I first, and last!, ate duck. 

I'm now going off to have my lunch. I'll post an update immediately underneath.

* * *

Okay, so here's what I said to myself as I was eating the lunch.

'F**k me, this is nice!'

I loved it.

It feels like I have wasted a lot of years avoiding this 'dish'. With that said, I am still somewhat reluctant to try proper sushi from a Japanese restaurant. Maybe that's something I should get over considering how much I enjoyed this supermarket version.

So nice! I will absolutely have this Asda version again.

Unfixable

I'm sure I've mentioned that I placed a dog bowl, once owned by my sister's late dog - Spiky, in front of my bedroom TV as a tribute to him.

It had been there on the top since the days following Spiky's passing. I even used it, each autumn, to select the next books I'd read in the annual Booker Prize Marathons. 

Unfortunately, the bowl is no more.

Oreo - who liked to wind me up, every now and again, by taking the things out of the bowl before running away! - accidentally knocked it down last night.

It wasn't the first time Oreo had pushed the bowl over the edge. However, this would turn out to be the last occasion because, upon landing on the floor, it shattered.

Unfixable.

I'm obviously gutted. However, I have to be straight up - I am not as bothered by the loss of the tribute item as I thought I would have been had this happened years ago.

It rested there for over four years. Thankfully, I have other things to remind me of Spiky. For example, a photograph album I created in the days following his passing.

I obviously miss Spiky more than I'll ever miss his bowl. That's the best way to spin it, right?