We know some of you like to handpick your copies of Pro Wrestling Illustrated newsstands. Whether you’re looking for the perfect, pristine copy that calls out your name or you simply enjoy the ritual, we’re right there with you.

If you count yourselves among our many readers who visit their local magazine racks for PWI, just a quick heads-up: Our May 2023 edition (Mercedes Mone cover) hits stores next week. That means you’ve got just a few more days to snag a copy of your #PWIAwards issue before it disappears from stores.

Having trouble finding a copy? We’ve still got it for sale in our online shop.

MATCH OF THE WEEK

Wrestling fans are always clamoring for the next dream match. If you’re a fan of IMPACT and Major League Wrestling, then this clash between Josh Alexander and Jacob Fatu (respectively, each promotion’s most dominant champion ever) should be right up your street. The hard-hitting bout, which took place at last summer’s “Ric Flair’s Last Match,,” has your friends here at PWI ready for round two.

MUSINGS (w/ MATT BROCK)

I like to work with the lights down low when I’m in the office. It just works for me. Sometimes, just to bug me, guys like Stu Saks or Eddie Ellner would come by and turn the lights on and then just keep on walking. I remember on one occasion—I want to say it was around 1994 or ’95—Stu came by and flicked the lights on. This time, he stayed. Leaning in the doorway, Stu asked me what I thought about this ECW promotion and all the bloody matches they were becoming notorious for. I told Stu I had seen far worse gore through the territories over the years, but I also knew that maybe, at the time, people weren’t used to seeing such things on WWF or WCW television.

There were some people, believe it or not, who wondered if we should even be covering ECW in our magazines due to the amount of blood often on display there. Those people would have been shocked by some of our early cover pictures, let me tell you. To his credit, Stu always maintained that pro wrestling should be covered as the sport it is. I agreed then … and still do today. That’s why, when I hear people complain about wrestlers bleeding in matches these days, I think it’s a disservice to the athletes involved.

Not to get all Vince Lombardi on you, but, at the end of the day, sports should be dramatic. At the end of a good contest, someone should be physically spent; maybe even a little bloody. Do I need to see blood in every match? No. But, when I do, it usually makes me feel that it might have been the difference between one person winning and the other losing.

A QUICK WORD ABOUT …

Jerry Jarrett enters the ring in TNA, 2003 — PHOTO BY VERN VERNA

While we could never do justice to the life and career of Jerry Jarrett in a space as small as this, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the man here in our Weekly. A legend in Memphis pro wrestling for his work in front of and behind the scenes, Jarrett was one of the most celebrated bookers and promoters of his era. He helped keep the Memphis territory a hotbed for many years. Between consulting for both the WWF and WCW, as well as being a founding member of TNA, Jarrett continued to help shape the wrestling business well into his 60s. Jerry passed away on February 14 at the age of 80. Of course, his sizeable legacy lives on through his son, Jeff, and Jerry’s lasting impact on the sport.

FROM THE VAULT

Although he appears to have been caught by an invisible fish hook in this picture, it was in fact Justin Credible who had reeled in all the competition in the year 2000. Defeating Tommy Dreamer in a surprise match at Cyberslam—just moments after Dreamer himself had won the title belt—Credible became ECW World champion and laid to rest any ghosts of Aldo Montoya that still may have haunted him.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Weekly for February 27, 2023