Randy Baer (born January 12, 1969), better known by his

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

and

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

RD (Real Deal) Reynolds, is a former American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and is also the co-creator of the professional wrestling website

WrestleCrap ''WrestleCrap'' is a professional wrestling website created by R. D. Reynolds and Merle Vincent, serving as a "hall of shame" for some of the worst gimmicks and storylines in professional wrestling history. The site is currently run by Reynolds a ...

, with Merle Vincent (who died in September 2000). He has also authored three books, ''WrestleCrap'',RD Reynolds listed as the author of "Wrestlecrap" at ECW Press.com.
''The Death of

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

'', co-authored with Bryan Alvarez, and ''The WrestleCrap Book of Lists!'', co-authored with Blade Braxton (who died in March 2021). He has been called "the foremost authority on the worst of professional wrestling" by the

Canadian Online Explorer Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' in ...

Independent wrestling career

Baer's self-produced DVD ''The Worst of RD Reynolds'' chronicles his work in various independent wrestling promotions, most of which were in the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

area for promoters Jeff Cohen and "Diamond" Dan Garza; primarily Cohen's Championship Wrestling of America and NWA Indianapolis. Baer worked as an interviewer, commentator, manager, and booker, meaning that he wrote storylines and set up matches. Occasionally, he performed in professional wrestling

matches A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

, some of which had special stipulations. When he became a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

manager, he was forced to adopt the ring name RD Reynolds due to wrestling fans leaving him angry messages on his answering machine. Baer once appeared in

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. O ...

, a former developmental territory of

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE), managing

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...

in a match against The Big Show. Show

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerf ...

med Baer during the course of the match and significantly injured him. Later, Baer himself took responsibility, citing his own inexperience and lack of training as the reasons for the injury.

Writing career

Baer holds a degree in broadcast journalism and sociology. In 2000, Baer and Merle Vincent launched the website WrestleCrap, which features wrestling-related articles, primarily focusing on moments in wrestling which Baer and contributors perceive to be the worst. Since the launch of the website, Baer has written four wrestling-related books. In his first book, ''WrestleCrap,'' Baer chronicles the characters and storylines from WWE and

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

which he perceives to the very worst. It features an introduction by

John Tenta John Anthony Tenta Jr. (June 22, 1963June 7, 2006) was a Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler (''rikishi'') best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake, though initially known as Canadian Earthquake. ...

. Reynolds also co-authored ''The Death of WCW'', with wrestling journalist Bryan Alvarez. The book received a positive review from Jon Waldman of SLAM! Wrestling. His third book, ''The WrestleCrap Book of Lists!'', written with Blade Braxton, was released in November 2007. He was a featured columnist for British pro wrestling and MMA magazine, ''

Fighting Spirit Magazine ''Fighting Spirit Magazine'' (''FSM'') was a monthly professional wrestling and mixed martial arts magazine published in the United Kingdom by Uncooked Media. The publication launched in 2006, becoming the UK's largest professional wrestling magazi ...

''. He has also been interviewed as an expert on wrestling gimmicks. In 2014, a 10th anniversary expanded edition of ''The Death of WCW'' was released.

Death hoax

In April 2007, Baer was the victim of an internet

hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

, with various people and websites claiming that he had died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

and his neighbors found him in his bathtub. In the end, Baer returned on an episode of WrestleCrap Radio with no idea how the rumor had started.

Awards and accomplishments

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...

** Best Pro Wrestling Book (2005, 2014, with Bryan Alvarez) Death of WCW

Bibliography

*''WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling'' (2003) *''The Death of WCW'' (2004) (with Bryan Alvarez) *''The WrestleCrap Book of Lists!'' (2007) (with Blade Braxton) *''The Death of WCW – 10th Anniversary Edition'' (2014) (with Bryan Alvarez)

References

External links

RD Reynolds' WrestleCrap website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, R. D. American comedy writers American non-fiction writers American podcasters Living people Writers from Indianapolis Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling journalists and columnists Professional wrestling managers and valets Professional wrestling podcasters 1969 births