Book Pro Wrestlers

I’ll never forget that first TNA Wrestling event in Huntsville, Alabama. It’s wild to think it’s been 24 years ago today.

Two weeks before that show, Jerry Jarrett called Tennessee promoter Bert Prentice in a panic — ticket sales were not doing well. Bert told him he’d help, but only if he could bring his own team. That team was us because we lived with Bert helping him run his Nashville promotion. (Leilani Kai, Anthony Ingram and myself.)

When he said pack your bags, we packed. We hit the road to Huntsville, and the moment we got there, we were put to work. We sat for hours cutting out tickets from giant cardboard sheets — thousands of them — and then hit the streets passing them out anywhere and everywhere. Bars, businesses, gas stations, parking lots… if you were breathing in Huntsville that week, we probably tried to hand you a ticket.

And it worked. When that first TNA event opened that night, the crowd came alive. It wasn’t easy — they took for granted that people would just show up — but we helped fill that building and make it feel like something special.

That turned into a couple of great years working under Bert Prentice and for TNA. We did everything — floor directing, setting up, running errands, whatever it took to keep things moving. Bert was a genius when it came to promotion, and those early days were a crash course in how to build something from the ground up.

Watching TNA set a new attendance record at Bound For Glory last year hit home for me. It brought everything full circle. From cutting those first tickets to seeing where the company is now… it’s pretty gratifying to know I was there at the start of it all.

The tickets shown here aren’t from that first night in Huntsville, but from one of the early pay-per-views at the Nashville Fairgrounds — the same kind we sat and cut by hand. They’re a small reminder of where it all began.

Here’s to 24 years of TNA Wrestling… and to everyone who believed in it when it was just an idea and a stack of cardboard tickets.

— Steve Stasiak, Book Pro Wrestlers

WWF in Pittsburgh — 1990 to 1993 at the Civic Arena 🏟️✨

When the WWF rolled into the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in the early ‘90s, the atmosphere was electric from the parking lot to the rafters. Thanks to our contributor Chris Korbelic, we get to step right back into that world through his personal photo collection, all taken between 1990 and 1993.

It starts outside the arena, where fans lined the lot just to catch a glimpse of their heroes arriving. One shot captures Davey Boy Smith and Bret “Hitman” Hart squeezed into a small car, still wearing their travel expressions before stepping into their larger-than-life roles. Another frame catches Razor Ramon himself — Scott Hall — in his leather jacket, looking every bit the cool, dangerous newcomer on the rise.

The arrivals didn’t stop there. The legendary Undertaker, flanked by Paul Bearer, emerges into the Pittsburgh night, the two of them perfectly in character before they’ve even stepped through the curtain. Hercules is here too, swinging his signature chain in the ring — the kind of visual that could make an arena full of kids gasp in both awe and fear.

From there, it’s wall-to-wall in-ring action. You’ll see “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig in his golden singlet, dripping with confidence. Tag matches with pink-and-black Hart Foundation colors flying, powerhouses throwing each other around under the bright lights, high-flyers launching off the ropes, and the classic heel-vs-face drama that defined this era. Even from the stands, Chris’s photos capture the intensity — the body language, the colorful gear, and the sheer spectacle that made WWF events in this era unforgettable.

For fans who were there, these aren’t just pictures — they’re proof of what it felt like to be part of a crowd that roared with every entrance theme and lived for every near-fall. And for those who weren’t, it’s a chance to see the WWF during a time when the roster was stacked with personalities that have since become legends.

📸 All photos courtesy of Chris Korbelic — a time capsule from Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena and one of the most memorable runs the WWF ever had in the Steel City.

- Steve Stasiak, Book Pro Wrestlers