Dragon Gate USA Weekend: Johnny Gargano vs. Jimmy Rave

It's Monday! I'm wrapping up the Dragon Gate USA weekend today with the DGUSA champion. The belt above is a pretty damn cool looking title. I would say this belt is one of my favorites and is by far better than that WWE spinner belt. Then again I've seen indy belts made with aluminum and a bedazzler that looked better than that title.

I find it fitting that I wrap up DGUSA weekend today with an Old School Monday Night RAW tonight. Talk about two opposite ends of the spectrum. Then again I'd love to watch the late 80's/early 90's WWF stars try to do half the things the guys (and girls) from Dragon Gate USA pull off.

I don't know if Dragon Gate will ever be one of the top two promotions in the country. I don't believe they even want to be. Don't get me wrong, they would love to sell out 20,000 seat arenas. What I mean is that the promotion has never made serious attempts to secure a national television deal, and they haven't run a full slate of house shows like a TNA or WWE. I really think that their current iPPV and DVD business structure is what works best for the japanese off shoot. As long as the product in front of the camera doesn't change then I'm happy with that.

Today's match is a little older, but I couldn't do a DGUSA weekend without showing Johnny Gargano. He is probably the biggest home grown star for the promotion. He came in as part of a stable known as Ronin, and played second fiddle to Chuck Taylor (a funny funny guy). He ended up being the breakout star of the group and catapulted himself in the DGUSA title picture.

Over a year ago, like CM Punk, Gargano won his title and hasn't looked back. His biggest test is coming up at WrestleCon during WrestleMania weekend when he defends the title against japanese icon, Shingo. This will be a match that can't be missed. You can see it on iPPV for like 1/4 the price of WrestleMania. That's a helluva deal.

Now Gargano has not only become one of the best wrestlers in the promotion, but he has also become one of the best promo men on the independent wrestling circuit. Check out his latest promoting WrestleCon:

 

Johnny Gargano has become the total package. I'd go see him fast because pretty soon he'll only be seen in Tampa, Florida. If you don't believe me then check out today's match with indy main stay Jimmy Rave. It's a two parter, so sit back and enjoy!



 

 

That is a talented dude, and one of the reasons that DGUSA is successful. I hope you enjoyed this Dragon Gate USA weekend. I'll try do more weekends in the future with independent promotions and talent. Please leave any suggestions in the comment box, or click the contact link to drop me a line.

 

Also don't forget to swing by the Dragon Gate USA site and pick up some merch. It supports the cause and a small business. When you do that you help create jobs. That helps the country. Don't you want to help the country? Aren't you a Real American?

 

See that segway! Remember to check back tomorrow for my weekly Monday Night RAW review. It's Old School RAW tonight, which should be a fun show with all the stars for glory days passed. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for our first Undertaker vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania encounter. That and more of Uncle Zeb's amazing mustache.

 

Until tomorrow remember this advice: Life's a work, duck the clothesline. 

Dragon Gate USA Weekend: Ricochet vs. Mike Cruz

The Dragon Gate USA weekend continues! How much fun was yesterday's match? Hopefully you learned more about DGUSA. The promotion is a unique idea that really stands out by being fresh and inventive.

Since becoming a fan, I will say they have had their head scratch moments. Some of the names of the stables don't exactly strike fear into me. I mean who is scared of "Mad Blankey". I have more fear for a pot smoking towel. But I guess that is something normal over in the japanese wrestling culture, which makes it kind of interesting here in the states.

Today's match features a talent everyone should know: Ricochet. He might be the most athletically gifted wrestler I have seen since Rob Van Dam. He is still young, but has become a main stay for the japanese Dragon Gate promotion along with Dragon Gate megastar CIMA. He's also a member of the group known as "World-1 International". I like to call them the international flip squad. And then I start humming the beginning to that song, "Game Over" ... flip flip flip.

Just watch this match and try to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. It's really cool stuff and he does it with ease.

That shooting star is sick and he makes it look like it is no more difficult than putting your socks on. Most people can't do that move when their opponent is so far out and he probably could go further.

Remember to visit the Dragon Gate USA site and pick up some merch. Support the little guy and maybe even try to expose your friends to this new fast paced product.

Tomorrow come back for the last day of the Dragon Gate USA weekend. I'll have a match with the current DGUSA champion. Johnny Gargano. He's an american wrestler from the Ohio area that has become one of the top stars in the country. He'll be on you're Monday night television before his career is over.

Dragon Gate USA Weekend: AR Fox vs. Arik Cannon

It's the first weekend in March and I decided to do something special. Today through Monday I will be putting up one match from Dragon Gate USA a day. If you don't know who DGUSA is then here is your chance to learn.

I'm not one for iPPVs. I'm still from the generation that does most of my watching on a TV and not the internet. I did however go buy Apple TV because I wanted to see Dragon Gate USA after I'd heard the buzz they were generating. Ever since my first DGUSA iPPV, I've been hooked.

The quick background is this: Dragon Gate is a japanese wrestling promotion that was born from the ashes of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon promotion/school. The promotion focuses on more atheletic high risk wrestling with the size of the wrestlers taking a dimished role. The best known talent to come out of DGUSA would be CIMA, Shingo, and Akira Tozawa. Currently they are considered the fourth largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE, TNA, and RoH.

A few years back when Gabe Sapolsky was relieved of his duties with Ring of Honor, he started up the United States off shoot of Dragon Gate. The promotion looked to carve a niche into the wrestling DVD market while giving the japanese talent a place to work in the states and American talent a chance to be scouted for japanese tours. Now with the invention of internet pay per views, DGUSA has become one of the leaders in the new media trend of professional wrestling.

Today I've found a match featuring two of my favorite American stars: AR Fox and Arik Cannon. Fox has been gaining fame lately for having the best matches on the card no matter where he shows up. He is a true breakout star. Cannon is a ring vet that is the current spokesman for Pabst Blue Ribbon. Yup, he's a PBR man. That alone makes me a fan. Arik also used to wrestle in a garbage bag looking singlet when I saw him years ago in IWA:MS. He's good people.

Watch as these two smash each other's faces and pull off some crazy moves in the video below.

Now go visit the Dragon Gate USA site, buy some merch, and maybe even check out a show.

Swing back here tomorrow for day two of the Dragon Gate USA weekend as I'll feature a match with Ricochet, the man taking japan by storm.

String Pullers: The Evolution of the Creative Process in Professional Wrestling (Part 2)

This is the second part of my Senior thesis. This part covers a deeper look in the change of kayfabe in the creative process that allows for fans to peak behind the curtain and know the ins/outs of professional wrestling.

The Curtain Jerker: Removing the Veil

            Jimmy Jacobs says, “When I started in nineteen ninety nine, wrestling was in a huge boom. It was wildly popular. Fast forward eleven years later, pro wrestling is the black sheep of the entertainment business” (Jacobs). Jacobs had started his career during the creation of the rift in professional wrestling. He had seen the curtain pulled away as not only a fan, but also a budding wrestler. This boom in popularity in professional wrestling created a need for a new kind of writer, as professional wrestling had moved its focus from the tens of thousands of fans in local arenas towards the hundreds of millions of fans around the world viewing professional wrestling on various mediums during the dawning of the digital age.

            With this shift in professional wrestling writing the view of wrestling also shifted, as stated by Jacobs, that no longer was wrestling its own sports genre, but soon wrestling became known, and judged, as entertainment. This began in “2001 when World Wrestling Entertainment began putting ads in the trade magazines for television writers” (Oliver). This was unheard of to publicly admit that professional wrestling was theater. The largest professional wrestling company in the history of the business had placed a classified ad for the biggest secret in professional wrestling. At this moment the traditional role of professional wrestling booker had changed and been replaced by the more modern, television friendly, creative writer.

            Professional wrestling had evolved into a new age and the creative process needed to evolve with it. For the first time the audience was in on the story lines of wrestling, and the writers needed to create the sense of reality without an illusion of legitimate sport. While this sounds impossible, Roland Barthes believes this task was not because he sees that the belief in the reality of the story isn't what is truly important to the creative process in professional wrestling. Barthes believes that in professional wrestling “there is no more a problem of truth than in the theatre. In both, what is expected is the intelligible representation of moral situations which are usually private” (Barthes 18). This belief in the purpose of professional wrestling is a strength for the modern creative process as the currently sought after colleges educated English majors with backgrounds in creative writing, and television, possess the exceptional ability and trained skill to create these moral situations for the modern wrestling fan.

            The advantage of hiring professional writers with degrees in creative writing is the talents and developed skills they possess over a traditional booker. Due to professional wrestling protecting the secret of the creative process the position of booker was usually held by former wrestlers or performers. In being a former, or even current, performer gave a booker the knowledge of how to manipulate a crowd to believe what they were seeing was real. Bookers didn't write story lines like a television script with written interviews and detailed segment break downs. It would not be farfetched to have the whole show for an evening written out on the napkin of the restaurant the booker had eaten dinner at.

            When wrestling became entertainment the ability to acquire highly skilled writing talent also became available. No longer did companies have to search amongst the secret circle of wrestling to find the creative minds behind the stories and characters. World Wrestling Entertainment could find the greatest writing minds of the twenty first century. With all this great ability and skill professional writers had a very prominent weakness when compared to a traditional booker; they had a disconnection with the essence of professional wrestling.

The Mid Card: The Booker vs. The Writer

            The issue with the creative process of professional wrestling moving into this new need for professional writers, instead of traditional bookers, becomes the loss of the connection to professional wrestling's history. While most of the professional writers will have their own personal histories with professional wrestling, the exposure can't compare to the pedigree instilled in a traditional wrestling booker. This knowledge of wrestling's history also becomes an important part of knowing the limits of the creative process in professional wrestling.

            Due to professional wrestling's authentic connection to reality as a fun house mirror that reflects reality back onto reality; there are certain limitations of reality that have to be respected in writing a wrestling story line. These types of limitations on creativity don't apply for other mediums that professional writers work in. When asked about these limitations, Jimmy Jacobs says,

“There's nothing really like wrestling. The range for the suspension of disbelief from the audience is very small. What I mean by this is that in any given TV show there can be terrorists, rape, flashbacks, and a number of other scenarios and tools the writers can use. In wrestling all of that is very limited. So often creative writers in wrestling come up with an idea that may work on a different stage, but for pro wrestling, it's either offensive or cheesy” (Jacobs)

In presenting such a wrestling product that relies on a genuine connection with its audience, this violation of the limitations creates the rift that is present in the current state of professional wrestling. This limited window for creativity gives wrestling a sense of reality that can be used in developing the characters that will be the roles of the wrestlers.

            The role of the wrestler is crucial to the creative process in wrestling. Barthes says that, “wrestling is an immediate pantomime, infinitely more efficient that the dramatic pantomime, for the wrestler's gesture needs no anecdote, no décor, in short no transference in order to appear true” (Barthes 18). Barthes is stating that for the genuine connection of wrestling to happen between the wrestling match and the audience, the role of the wrestler must come from the wrestler. This is something that, as a former performer, a traditional booker has a better grasp on than a professional writer, who find actors to take on characters. The characters that wrestlers take on are like the sport of professional wrestling, exaggerated realities.

            Gabe Sapolsky approaches his creative process the same way when it comes to developing characters for his writing. Sapolsky believes “in developing a character out of a person's real life personality. I think if you develop a character and then force someone to play it you won't quite fit” (Sapolsky). This has become the pitfall with the current process of professional writers who have been trained to create characters and find actors after creation to fill the roles. The roles become hollow and without the spark of reality to create a connection with the audience. In looking at wrestlers as having the same skill set as professional actors, creative writers produce roles that don't transfer the ideas from the story lines to the audience with the same effect as when those characters are forged from the personalities of the men and women who will assume those roles. The opposing roles of booker and writer create a paradox where one side’s weakness is the other side’s strength resulting in a perpetual struggle between the two styles. The solution to this struggle is the eventual evolution of the role into a hybrid resembling a yin yang of writer and booker.

String Pullers: The Evolution of the Creative Process in Professional Wrestling (Part 1)

This is the first of three parts for my Senior Thesis on the creative process in professional wrestling that I wrote a year ago before I graduated from the University of Saint Francis. It takes a look at the changing environment in pro wrestling over the last few decades. I have provided my work cited page in an earlier post. Enjoy!

String Pullers:
The Evolution of the Creative Process in Professional Wrestling

            The landscape of professional wrestling is constantly changing. Each year professional wrestling continues to evolve with the story lines, and characters, that make up wrestling's expansive history. This history of wrestling has become connected to human history, as until only a few years ago professional wrestling existed under the veil of legitimate sport. While the wrestlers are world class athletes; the knowledge by an audience, kept completely in the dark, about predetermined out comes would have changed the original belief about wrestling as a legitimate sporting contest.  Professional wrestler Jimmy Jacobs sees the genuine connection between reality and wrestling because “professional wrestling has always been a fun house mirror of sorts to the world and culture” (Jacobs). This ability of wrestling to take an exaggerated look at reality has always been protected by the veil around professional wrestling, that in some way wrestling was reality, because it was seen as a legitimate sporting contest. When this veil that protected wrestling's reality was removed it created a new wrinkle in the evolution of professional wrestling as the role of creative writer became an option not just for those in the protected circles of professional wrestling, but for professional writers from other mediums such as television, theater, and cinema.

            The removal of the professional wrestling veil created a rift between the traditional style of a pro wrestling match maker, also known as a “booker” (Oliver), and the modernized creative skill found in a college educated English major. This rift can be seen today in the ratings of World Wrestling Entertainment's flag ship show Raw is War, that has seen television ratings cut in half since the boom period at the turn of the century when the veil of professional wrestling was being removed (Wrestling Information Archives). With this rift I believe that professional wrestling is preparing for the next evolution in the creative process as the future role of a writer will become a hybrid of a traditional wrestling booker's knowledge of the sport and history fused with a college educated creative writer's trained skill and natural ability to produce highly developed ideas in story lines for various creative mediums.

The Pre-Show: A History of Wrestling's Creative Process

            Only a few decades ago the veil of professional wrestling was firmly intact as fans gathered from far and wide to cheer their heroes, and jeer their villains. Roland Barthe's essay on professional wrestling, entitled The World of Wrestling, says that this connection between the crowds and the wrestlers is because “wrestling partakes of the nature of the great solar spectacles, Greek drama and bullfights: in both, a light without shadow generates an emotion without reserve” (Barthes 15). This ability to generate an emotion without reserve is the foundation for the creative process in professional wrestling. Since the day the first bell rang, until the somber day when the last bell sounds, this ideal will be the heart of the creative process in professional wrestling. This ability originally gained its strength in the veil of professional wrestling as the secrets of how the magic was made were kept on a very strict need to know basis. Legendary professional wrestling manager, and seasoned booker, Jim Cornette remembers that when he began in the wrestling business that he “didn't know there was a booker until a week before he went on television” (Oliver). Since the knowledge of wrestling being a full contact theatrical performance was so tightly guarded the history of the sport became a tool that bookers used.

            The role of history in professional wrestling came from wrestling's general public belief that professional wrestling was a legitimate sporting contest. Since the nature of the business was protected the matches, and actions of the wrestlers, became recorded by fans and the media much in the same way professional sports like football or baseball are kept. Bookers could build feuds on history between wrestlers, or even their families from generations ago, because in the eyes of the fans professional wrestling had a legitimate sports history. This type of emotion is comparable to the connection a rivalry has in sports. When a professional wrestling booker used history to generate emotions from fans it was no different than when teams like the New York Yankees got their fan base riled up by showing negative Boston Red Sox highlights from decades ago. While none of the players on either team are the same, the history of the teams creates the energy used to fuel the hatred one team has for the other, as the only constant is the jersey that the players wear.

            Gabe Sapolsky, a booker during the current rift in the creative process, says, “I feel it can only hurt to not have a basic understanding of what works in wrestling. You still need to have the fundamentals of storytelling in wrestling” (Sapolsky). The most basic of fundamentals that all creative writers in professional wrestling have is wrestling's storied history. Sapolsky broke into the wrestling industry with one of the wrestling promotions that helped remove the veil from professional wrestling: Extreme Championship Wrestling.

            When it comes to professional wrestling history the letters E-C-W carry a lot of weight as a wrestling promotion that had left a mark on the wrestling time line. A decade after the demise of ECW fans still chant the name of the promotion, and others like World Wrestling Entertainment have tried to restart the promotion because of these loyal fans (The Rise and Fall of ECW). These actions by fans and wrestling promoters are a testament to the strength of the role history plays in the creative process in professional wrestling, as a defunct promotion can carry a fresh connection with a business and an audience over a decade later. This role in professional wrestling history also played a role in the current state of creative in wrestling as ECW literally removed the curtain that separated the fans and the wrestlers.

            During a segment featuring two wrestlers, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman, one wrestler injures the other wrestler with a lit cigarette and strikes him in the eye with a cane. This incident led to the cameras for ECW going backstage to see both good guy and bad guy wrestlers co-mingling as Tommy Dreamer pleaded his case that he didn't mean to hurt The Sandman (Rise and Fall). This segment was part of ECW's counter culture cutting edge style. There was no true motive in taking away wrestling's greatest tool. The rumors and theories behind removing the veil of professional wrestling are plentiful. ECW, and other companies, were trying to deliver new and fresh ideas to an audience of fans that, mostly thanks to the internet, had started to get wise to the reality of the business. The breaking of the greatest taboo in professional wrestling became the only way to stay ahead of the fans, if only for a short time.

            This was just one example of how the veil of professional wrestling was torn off from the nineties into the turn of the century. At this moment fans were being allowed to see that the men, who in the ring hated each other enough to make them bleed, were friends behind the scenes. Actions like this had destroyed the illusion that professional wrestling was still a legitimate sporting contest. As seen in the ratings for WWE's Raw is War during the time period, this move to reveal the secrets behind professional wrestling generated instant attention as professional wrestler Jimmy Jacobs saw during the time.

Pro Wrestling Senior Thesis

When I graduated from the University of Saint Francis with a BA in English: Creative Writing, I wrote my senior thesis on the creative process in professional wrestling. I decided that people may enjoy reading this researched piece with interviews from Gabe Sapolsky and Jimmy Jacobs, plus other sources such as the widely popular "Guest Booker" series. Before I begin I wanted to share my work cited page that can be used when I cite my quotes in the next three posts (today, Thursday, and Friday).

Work Cited

Allaboutscience.org. “Darwin's Theory of Evolution”. 2002. 20 Nov. 2010 <http://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/>

Barthes, Roland. “The World of Wrestling” Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers, London: Paladin, 1972. 15-25

Jacobs, Jimmy. Personal interview. 8 Nov. 2010.

Oliver, Sean. “Guest Booker with Jim Cornette”. Interview. Jim Cornette. DVD. Kayfabecommentaries.com. 7 Nov. 2010.

Sapolsky, Gabe. Personal interview. 16 Nov. 2010.

The Rise and Fall of ECW. Dir. Kevin Dunn. Perf. Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, Vince McMahon, and Tommy Dreamer. 2004. DVD. World Wrestling Entertainment, 6 Nov. 2010.

Wrestling Information Archives. “Raw is War Ratings History”. 9 June 2008. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/wwf/wwfraw.htm>

The Internet Is Not Enough

I’ve always been a big Steve Corino fan. He doesn’t seem to take himself too serious. He was one of the most entertaining ECW champions during the time I was a diehard ECW fan. Corino is the modern age Terry Funk, in that he understands the best way to ensure a cushier future for him is to prepare the next generation of wrestlers. That might stem from his son being a budding grappler. He also has a great blog and twitter feed.

When I was working with Eddie Farhat Jr. I tried to get Corino booked for a couple of shows, but never could convince Eddie to bring him in. I traded emails with Steve, but I couldn’t get Eddie to agree to his price, which wasn’t out of bounds for a recent ECW champion. Later on I found out it was because Farhat wasn’t willing to pay anyone their market value and used his cousin/father’s name to bargain shop talent. It was one of the reasons I left to go book for the MMWA in Northern Michigan. I would have loved to bring Corino in there, but I learned that ship was already oars underwater when I took over.

When I read Corino’s latest blog he covers a lot, but in one section he talks about the role of promoters when it comes to promoting their shows. The King of Old School talks about a common occurrence in indie wrestling where a wrestler shows up to a town, goes to the gas station down the block from the venue, and the people working there don’t even know wrestling is going on that night a football field away from their job. Basically a promoter failed at promoting. It’s like a father who isn’t a good father. They’re a deadbeat promoter.

Just like kids with a deadbeat dad, it is the wrestlers that suffer because then the promoter does the dance of, “The house was light, so that means your pay envelope is light too”. The wrestlers showed up, they put on a match, and yet they have to get stiffed. All because a promoter couldn’t even do the one thing they’re supposed to do: Promote. It happens because people think if you set up a ring it will be like field of dreams, and fans will just come. As if pro wrestling fans have a spider sense for boiled hot dogs, gold bond powder, and men in tights.

A lot of promoters I have met spend more time booking and re-booking a show, than getting the word out about the show. They think a facebook post, a twitter update, a website with a message board for ten fans to trade insults on, and flyers at the local comic shop is all that is needed to draw. The only thing is that the internet is not enough.

The people following you on twitter and facebook already know about your show. The same goes for your message board. If you’re actually doing flyers then you need to put it where people who don’t normally go to wrestling will see them.

So many times I have seen flyers up in a comic shop or a tattoo parlor, where the customers already have pretty low dispensable incomes. Yet the local grocery store, gas stations, and hardware store don’t have a single mention. It takes ten seconds to ask the manager if you can put one up, and the customers coming through there usually have deeper pocket books. Plus they are new customers, which is essential for any business to grow.

Out of every 10 new people who check out a business for the first time, only 1-2 will be repeat customers. That is basic business economics. The ratio might be worse for pro wrestling because it is such a niche market. So you need to keep bringing in new blood like a dialysis machine for Keith Richards. Every show your audience should be at least 80% new faces.

The one thing every promoter seems to miss the boat on is Press Releases. I don’t know why because they are really easy to do. They take very little time to do, and you can send them to every media outlet in the area. There are a lot of small town papers, radio stations, and even television stations that are looking for local flavor to fill time. I know, I used to do morning radio for a decade. It might not be at 7AM drive time, but even a 6:10 AM talk break because of a press release is better than nothing.

A great example is when I took over for the MMWA. Going into my first booked show with the promotion the ticket sales just weren’t good enough. It was going to be another bad showing. I then found out nothing had been done to reach out to the media. With the help of my friend Jim Hall, we put together a press release talking about Rick Steiner coming to Northern Michigan, and guess what the local paper wanted an interview.

Rick was great about doing it, and we hooked the reporter up with Steiner for a short interview. He wrote an article in the Sunday edition the week before the show that took up half the front page because this little town usually had nothing more than quilt shows and fishing competitions to talk about. Low and behold the house went from 20 tickets sold to nearly 150 tickets sold leading up to the event. It was because we took an hour to make a press release. I think it cost us like 2 dollars in copies to send out. If I remember the walk up ended being good for that show too.

If promoting wrestling was easy then everybody would do it. I would quit my job and do it. The thing is pro wrestling will always be a labor of love. You’ll probably lose money at it. Some don’t have the discipline to run a tight show with a budget. Others can’t figure out how to get the word out. Most won’t survive the year or more it takes to establish a fan base that allows you to just break even.

Indie wrestling in most cases will be as profitable as playing poker with your buddies on the weekend. You might make a dime or two every once and awhile, but you’re not walking out on your job to go chase the dream. You’ll have fun with your friends, new and old. You’ll get a couple of stories. Finally, you’ll look forward to the next month, which helps get you through your 9 to 5. That’s the real life of an indie promoter.

Not to say there aren’t promotions making it. There sure as hell is. Just like there are a few weekend card players who make a splash at the World Series of Poker. The thing is those promotions are working their tails off to put as many butts in the seats. They have the flyers up at the laundry mat four towns over. They have phone calls into the local media for interview requests and ticket giveaways. They are doing everything besides relying on the internet. These promoters know the internet is really just the place to keep the fans hooked once you’ve caught them. Nobody accidently Googles your indie wrestling promotion.

If you’re willing to put in this work then you’ll see results. As the crowds grow then so will the quality of the shows, because wrestlers do better when there are less empty chairs. The better shows will keep bringing people back because quality is the best way to retain customers. This is the cycle of life in pro wrestling and in business as a whole.

Yet, like Newton said, “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.” The promoter has to be that outside force that gets the crowds in motion, the crowds will get the wrestlers in motion, and then houses will grow, which is a motion. It all begins with the promoter.

There is a lot more that goes into indie wrestling promoting than what I talked about here. This is one aspect of hundreds that go into running shows. Yet it seems to be such an important one that gets overlooked.

As the title says, the internet just isn’t enough. It’s great for interaction, but does little to put asses in the seats. Hard work, commitment, and patience will always be what determines if a show is going to be 20 butts every 18 inches or 200. It’s old school promoting, and sometimes what’s old school is right.

Fantasy Wrasslin'

As far as hobbies, or obsessions as my wife would say, go I am into three things: Pro Wrestling, Comic Books, and Fantasy Football. If it wasn't for my wife being pregnant then it would be hard for me to argue not being a virgin. I often find a lot of hobbies, but most just fizzle out after a couple of weeks. Those three things through the years have always managed to keep my interests. In a few weeks I'll have my fantasy football draft in a league that I have won the past two championships. It's all about mathematics and applied values in relation to quality/quantity ratios.

Broken down that basically means how far is the seperation between certain players at a position. Knowing that seperation allows for knowing when to grab certain players before the position falls off the cliff. Like this year Brady, Rodgers, and Brees will go in the first round, but Vick, Romo, or Manning could all have equal or just slightly worse values than those three, but go in the 5th to 8th round. While running backs who carry most of their teams load instead of being in a comittee are a rare commodity. Having two such backs like a McFadden, Richardson, Forte, or Jones Drew can tip the scales in your favor as opposed to wasting a top tier pick on a QB that might be equal to a mid-round pick. It's not an exact science, and there is way more that goes into it, but now you know how geeky I am about my hobbies. Hell you're reading a blog I write about pro wrestling, which I haven't laced up the boots for in almost 6 years.

As I prepared for my up coming draft I wondered what kind of fantasy wrestling team I could put together. I kind of want to get some of my wrestling friends together and do a draft. That might be a fun idea for down the road. Right now I just want to put together a fantasy roster. I'll go over my picks, and give some details on each talent.

Rules for building my fantasy wrestling roster:

1. Must contain 3 singles wrestlers from each of the big three promotions (WWE, TNA, RoH) to give the roster 9 total singles wrestlers.
2. Must contain one tag team from each of the big three promotions to give the roster 3 established teams.
3. Must contain four female talents involved in wrestling in the past year.
4. Must contain one unsigned talent

All together that gives the roster twenty wrestlers, which is a good start for a core roster of talents in any wrestling promotion. I had a lot of fun with this and I think I have come up with a good roster that can interact well together. Plus I decided when building this that I would try to do it without any Kevin Nash money makers just to prove a point.

G.R.o.W. Fantasy Roster

Singles

• CM Punk: Unless you're a first time reader to this site then you know I am a huge Punk fan. I think he has every tool you need to be one of the greats. He can wrestle with any person on the planet. He has buckets of charisma. He can cut a promo with the best of them. He also has a unique look that helps him stand out in a crowd. If this is a draft then he would be my first round pick.
• Daniel Bryan: He is a great in ring talent. He might even be better between the ropes than CM Punk. In the past year his personality has grown outside the ropes. He has the ability to make anyone look better than they are in the ring. He is the Macho Man to Punk's Hogan. If Punk is my top guy then Bryan is the guy that helps build future opponents for Punk and eventually sells out houses as his biggest rival.
• Dean Ambrose: Don't know who Dean is? Just wait and you will. If Brian Pillman had a baby with Stone Cold Steve Austin when they were the Hollywood Blondes then it would be Dean Ambrose. His promos are great. He has a good in ring ability. He also is willing to push any boundry. As a booker, Dean gives you no limits on where to take his character, which can lead to some interesting developments. Ambrose is my sleeper pick.
• Austin Aries: AA has come on the scene with a vengeance this year. He was good in RoH, but he's epic in TNA. His cocky personality becomes even better when he proves every word in the ring. Aries is the kind of talent that can steal the show in the dark match. He, like Punk & Bryan, can have great matches with a corpse. He might be my 2nd pick in a fantasy draft.
• Samoa Joe: If you haven't seen, my roster is not based on size, which plays into Joe's favor. Having average sized talents makes Samoa Joe look bigger. He becomes the beast of my roster. I also think his physical style sets him a part. I would use him like a Taz in that when you see Joe then you know shit is about to get real and somebody is going to get manhandled. I do think he has some limitations in his promo ability, but in ring he can really bring it with the right talents.
• Bully Ray: The former Dudley has really broken free from his tag team days. His new persona might be the best pure heel in the business. I like his physical style, and on a microphone he could cause a riot at a monastery. I would be real interested to see Bully Ray take on CM Punk.
• Kevin Steen, Steve Corino, and Jimmy Jacobs: I'm not listing these three separate because their work as the anti-ROH stable has been outstanding. They can all wrestle, plus each brings a unique role. Steen may look like a garbage man but he wrestles like Flair. Corino is an old vet that knows all the tricks plus cuts a mean promo. Jacobs is a fantastic pest in that he can wrestle, bump, and he can get on people's nerves with his antics. I would keep them as a stable.

Tag Teams

• Airboom: Before Evan Bourne got his 2nd strike, and got into a car accident, this was a really promising tag team. They could do a lot in the ring together. Their promo skills leave something to be desired, but as singles wrestlers they both can help build a roster. As a tag team they are very marketable.
• The Briscoe Brothers: Unique look, check. Great personalities, check. Crazy loose cannons, Damn Right! I love everything about this tag team. Nobody looks like they do. The Youtube videos are hilarious. Plus they are willing to do anything in and out of the ring including putting their bodies on the line. Every promotion should have a team this dedicated to their performance.
• Daniels & Kazarian: Both men can be good singles wrestlers, but together they have a great fluidity. They can interact with the high flyers like Airboom, but also get down & dirty with physical teams like the Briscoes. Another valuable team that strengthens the whole roster. Plus Christopher Daniels is a good mic worker, who constantly freshens up his character.

Women

• Amazing Kong (Kharma): How the WWE ever let her get away I will not know. No woman looks like her and no woman can wrestle like her. There might not be a lot of male wrestlers that can do what she does. Hell all you need is Kong to have a strong women's division. I might take her with my 3rd pick because of the draw factor for such a unique personality.
• Velvet Sky & Angelina Love: As a duo these two are great. They play the perfect stuck up bitches. Add in that they both can wrestle, and it's just sprinkles on my cupcake. My three ladies are all unsigned talents, and together they might be the best female roster in wrestling. That's how far back the big three are on women's wrestling.
• Sara Del Rey: The best in ring women's wrestler going. She doesn't look like a playboy bunny, which is probably why she isn't on your television. I heard she signed with the WWE to head up their development. She should be their champion. She's that damn good.

Unsigned

• Krimson: He's an old friend of mine. He has a great look, plus TNA stole his gimmick & his name for two of their wrestlers. Great mic skills with ten years of experience. I like having wrestlers on my roster that I can trust. He'll be that kind of worker on this all star roster. The gimmick stands out and it is something you can use in the marketing department on all promotions. Plus his promos are kinda creepy, which helps him stand out even more. He's also buddies with Kevin Nash, and this roster was inspired by Big Sexy.

That's my twenty person fantasy wrestling roster. I think I could do some cool things with these talents that hasn't been seen on television. Yesterday I said it takes breaking new ground to draw money, and that is what this roster could do. In ring this would be the best thing going today. With some time, character development, and some risk taking this roster of talents could be bigger than WWF, WCW, or ECW at the height of their popularity.

If you have a roster of your choosing please leave it in the comments section. Would love to see what other people come up with.

Size Doesn't Matter, Sizzle Does!

Kevin Nash once again has opened up the discussion that small wrestlers don't draw money. In an article for Grantland.com, Nash said that at WrestleMania 20 the crowning of Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit as champions is what destroyed the business. He claims that when wrestling went away from Monsters to normal sized competitors that the fans went away too.

Many have fired shots back at Big Sexy. Chris Jericho says it was Nash's run as WWE champion in 1995 that was the lowest drawing period in the WWE, and that he merely took a ride on Hall & Hogan's coattails in the NWO. Chavo Guerrero Sr, who knows a little about this sport called wrestling, laid into Nash claiming besides his size that he lacked any wrestling ability. Jim Ross even disagreed with Nash, but wasn't as vocal in his opposition.

The fact is that Kevin Nash is good at creating a buzz. It maybe his greatest talent. He's like that kid on the playground that just knows what buttons to push. He's a big guy, there are a lot of smaller wrestlers in today's environment, and the two guys he talked about aren't around anymore to defend themselves. Put all of it together, and it creates the perfect storm. In short, he hooked em.

Now no matter what side you're on you have gone to Grantland and read the article. You've read the small snipet that is creating all this craziness, but you've also read about his Hollywood projects. You've read about what Kevin Nash is upto now. You've made Kevin Nash a headline story on all the wrestling sites, and he hasn't stepped foot in the ring for one of the big 3 wrestling promotions. He's more talked about right now than Brock Lesnar, HBK, or HHH; the main players in the Summer Slam main event in 11 days. Kevin Nash without trying has out sizzled the WWE and TNA, both going into big pay per views.

Now I disagree with Kevin Nash. I don't believe size matters because even as far back as the 60's midgets have drawn money. What draws money is the bookers or writers being able to create storylines, matches, and moments for talents big & small that keep the fans opening their wallets.

Truly what has killed wrestling, especially in the WWE, is the lost art of true creative minds in the business. The head of creative for the largest promotion got her job because of her last name. The guy leading the writers in TNA is still living off his stroke of luck from the attitude era that he hasn't been able to recreate in nearly 15 years. Finally the brain trust in Ring of Honor continues to run it's promotion like it's the late 80's, which hasn't done much to move the needle.

All in all the talents and fans have evolved, the creative process has devolved. That kind of seperation between the major factors in pro wrestling is what kills business. When the writers and bookers stop believing they are smarter than the talent, start working with them instead of above them, then the money will come back.

The curtain has been pulled back on the mystery of wrestling, but the ability to tell a story hasn't. People still go to broadway even when they know the play isn't reality TV, the same can happen for Pro Wrestling. Bookers just need to stop booking for their own benefit and start doing it for the best interests of the talents and the fans. Stephanie, Russo, and Cornette need to evolve with the business instead of kicking and screaming to keep it the way they like it. Simply put they need to leave their comfort zone.

When the bookers/writers of wrestling take risks then they will break new ground. They will establish new places for the minds of fans and talents to go, which is all both sides are asking for. Fans want fresh storylines that don't look like the same recyled crap they have watched since Flair and Hogan. Talents wants new ways to get their characters over other than the cookie cutter ways that have been the standard since Nash was Oz.

People will say there is no new ground in pro wrestling. They will say that everything has been done. Those are the people who think the world of pro wrestling is flat. I am here to tell you it is round. If we sail our ships to the edge, we won't fall off, we'll just discover new territory. Money can be made with a seven footer or a midget. Money can be made with women or men. Money can be made with anyone. It's up to the creative minds to finally start doing their jobs and finding that money by discovering new ground in Pro Wrestling.

In this business it will never be about size, but about sizzle. The easiest way to get sizzle is to give people something they've never seen before. That will get people talking, which is what Kevin Nash has done. And they're only talking because there is nothing new to take Nash's place.

TNA Impact Wrestling: Rollercoaster Wrasslin’

TNA has been up and down lately; usually in the same episode. Last night was a step in the right direction. The go home show before Destination X put the finishing touches on what should be an entertaining Pay Per View. Also having a current Ring of Honor champion wrestle on the show created a buzz on the internet, and creating a buzz is never a bad thing. It wasn’t all peaches and cream as there were some road bumps, but compared to last week this was a step up.

The best part of the night: there was no Boobs Hogan. The Hulkster’s spawn didn’t make it on TV this week, and that made the episode better. Absence makes the heart grow fonder … of not having her on my TV. Not to say the Knockouts didn’t have their own dumbass moments.

Madison Rayne has been swooning over a mystery man for weeks. This week we found out the payoff for this storyline was elderly referee Earl Hebner. The man who screwed Brett, is now the man who wants to screw Madison. Angles involving refs are moronic, especially ones with this much build. How does this help build characters? Where does it really go from here? Does it help bring in ratings watching grandpa make out with a fake beauty queen? It is wasted television time, and wasted talent. Let your refs call the matches, and let your wrestlers handle the stories. They missed a golden opportunity to elevate two male talents using Madison Rayne as the middle piece of a twisted love triangle.

Here let me book this on the fly for you. Madison falls for guy X, then guy Y thinks it should be him who she goes for. Guy X isn’t as into Madison as Guy Y, but being hard to get makes Madison want Guy X more, which pisses off Guy Y. Guy X and Guy Y fight. Madison, being an egomaniac, loves the attention. Eventually Guy X falls for Madison and defeats Guy Y, leaving the door open for a variety of angles such as Madison not wanting Guy X anymore in favor of Guy Y, Madison screwing both of them over by debuting Guy Z, Madison celebrating that Guy X loves her back, etc. Now we just have Madison & one half of the grumpy old men. This is a prime example of why TNA falls on their face.

Another head scratch moment was when Gail Kim used her lawyers to get her out of a Knockouts Title match this week, and she’s not the champion. So she doesn’t want to wrestle for the title? Who waits a week for their shot at the strap? And why make it next Thursday and not this Sunday at the PPV? The tag match between the Knockouts was good for what it was. They kept Gail and Tessmacher apart during the finish to protect their future match up. I still don’t see why Gail Kim gave up a title shot, especially against somebody like Brooke Tessmacher, who isn’t exactly the most threatening champion in the world.

Speaking of Lawyers, I really dig Joseph Park. Having met Abyss when TNA was running the Nashville fairgrounds on Wednesday nights, it really is cool to see him evolve as an all-around worker. Plus I think Bully Ray is the bee’s knees. His persona, mic work, and physical style make him an asset to the company. Nothing against the two, but I hope this feud ends soon so Bully can make his way into the main event picture against somebody like an Austin Aries. He is that damn good.

The restraining order came off a little low rent. Who goes to jail for life for violating a restraining order? I don’t mind the use of the restraining order to keep “Abyss” out of the match, but put some reality into it. It’s a minor hiccup, and as good as these two are, it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

What does matter in the grand scheme of things is the wrestling. Devon and Crimson had a good match, but it seemed really rushed. It felt like an enhancement match more than a TV title match. Also why does Crimson get a title match when he lost at the last PPV to James Storm? Then again he was undefeated for 18 months so one loss shouldn’t drop you to the bottom of the basement.

Storm vs. Hardy was a really good match that had the crowd going nuts. I can’t deny that both are over like Grover with the fans. I still can’t stand the Bound for Glory series. I have said that it is over booked wrestling, but it does give good matchups every week. Who knows it might actually grow on me, until I am forced to do math, then I will hate it again.

The X-division tournament was two totally different matches. Flip Cassanova & Dumbshit Darsow should never come back to TNA. That was the sloppiest spot fest I have seen since that movie the backyard. Darsow is lucky he only walked away with a broken nose. Flip has a good look but he is dangerous in the ring. He will hurt somebody in a real bad way if he keeps wrestling like that. Just awful stuff.

On the other hand Kenny King delivered on all fronts. In the ring he looked crisp, and light years ahead of the three other x-division workers tonight. Add in the fact that he is one half of the current Ring of Honor tag team champions, and his debut had tons of sizzle. He got to cut a promo after, plus a backstage segment. I’m not a betting man, but I think KK will be in the Ultimate X match finals on Sunday. Hell, I think he is my pick to win it all.

King appearing on the show and the PPV this Sunday won’t help the rumors going around the internet that Ring of Honor is going out of business. Mark Madden, former WCW announcer, has been leading the charge that RoH is on their last leg. The promotion just cancelled a whole run of shows in the Carolinas. Now one of their champions appears on the competitors show only weeks after winning the belt. No matter the truth, this is a dark time for Ring of Honor.

The darkest time is what has happened to AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels … I can’t even talk about this. Pregnancy angles never work in wrestling. Mae Young giving birth to a hand thinks this storyline is stupid. The only excuse for this is if later it comes out the whole storyline was written by a mentally handicapped child as part of a make-a-wish, but that can’t be it because even the mentally handicapped community thinks this angle is retarded.

The exact opposite of Styles & Daniels is the world title match at Destination X. Robert Roode and Austin Aries is going to be so good. They have done a great job of building to this match. Roode abusing Sabin, and kicking a cripple cemented him as king asshole in TNA. It also allowed for Aries to get the upper hand at the end of the show, and not make it feel like AA was dominating the night. The two have been booked to seem neck & neck, which makes Sunday a toss-up. That helps a buy rate, which is the reason TNA is in business.

The shot of Aries and Hogan at the end with both titles raised high is a great closing moment. Hulk Hogan has really embraced this back seat role. It looks like it may not last with the playing cards & sting’s attackers beginning soon. I hope Hogan realizes less is more in the coming weeks. 10 minutes of the Hulkster is good, and 40 minutes of Hulk is bad.

Impact Wrestling was an entertaining show this week with ups and downs like a rollercoaster. In the end I almost a puked a few times, but when it was done I was glad I went along for the ride.

One Wild Week

Talk about a crazy week. When last we ranted Ring of Honor was coming off a great iPPV and Monday Night RAW was ramping up. Then the rollercoaster began. I moved this week from my shoe box apartment to a deluxe apartment in the sky. Ok, a nice townhouse in the burbs, but still feeling like George Jefferson. That meant I lost my internet for the week because I had to switch providers. Hoping Xfinity is as a good as Cox, which shouldn’t be hard because Cox sucked.

Then when I got my Internet on Friday, the worst storm outside of a hurricane in Virginia’s history came busting through the state like Shockmaster goes through a brick wall. In short, it was a big disaster. We lost power until the end of the weekend. Now it looks like things are back to normal. Just in time for a new Monday Night Raw tonight.

Instead of writing a ton about old news, I figured I would do a week in review to get everyone caught up in the wacky world of wrasslin’. Monday Night Raw was one of the best episodes in months. TNA again goes up and down with great moves and boneheaded decisions. Plus the spirit of ECW won’t die.

First, Vickie Guerrero should be the GM of RAW and Smackdown after her showing last week. I missed Smackdown due to the storm, but RAW was hands down one of the best episodes in months. The beginning talk was limited to five minutes, and the opening three way dance was off the charts good. Again if CM Punk and Daniel Bryan wrestled for all three hours every week, the WWE couldn’t go wrong. They are hands down the two best talents in professional wrestling today. There is nobody who is even in their league. Then Austin Aries right behind them.

No better example of this is Kane. Do you remember the last time Kane looked this good? How about never! I think you could put the Great Khali in a feud with Bryan & Punk, and he would look like a stud. That’s literally possessing the ability to have a great match with a broom.

The match set the whole tone for the show, and it seemed like the rest of the talents felt the need to step things up. When Ziggler turns face, I really hope Albert Del Rio is in his future. The two could have some great mid-card matches that would add to any pay per view. The hot potato gimmick at the end of their match was a little bit of stretch, but they made it work.

Sheamus being excited about defending his belt in a triple threat is a little stupid. Who gets excited about defending a title in a match where you can lose your belt without being beaten? I guess ginger the moron ghost does. Then again he probably saw the booking sheet, and realized no champion gets beat on a taped show.

Even John Cena’s promo was good. I’m a Star Wars geek, and Cena had me cracking up. I might be biased, but his Yoda was sweet. It was a good moment to showcase the WWE title contract ladder match for Money In The Bank, which is making the PPV tip towards the “buy list”.

At the end of the day Monday Night Raw had good matches, some storyline advancements, and set up the pay per view with interesting tid bits. It did everything a free wrestling television show is supposed to do.

Bryan pinned Punk, so now we have them wrestling for the title at the PPV. It makes sense, and on Smackdown we found out AJ will be the ref. That makes even more sense. The former WWE champs compete in the ladder match, and that gives viewers an All Star cast who don’t usually wrestle in these danger matches. Plus I wouldn’t be surprised for a Rey Mysterio inclusion this week. Finally new talent is getting highlighted with the World title ladder match. Yup this was a good week for the WWE.

On the other hand TNA continued its rocky boat ride. The Gut Check segment last week was a highlight, but having Taeler Hendrix win this week ruined it all. Her showing was subpar at best. Her look isn’t that good. It just screamed, “This is a huge work”. She didn’t cut the mustard, yet TNA gave her a contract. It just took a giant dump on the whole angle. These judges were worse than the blind mice scoring the Bradley vs. Pacquiao fight. It ruined an entire angle that I will have a hard time taking serious in the future.

On the bright side the X-division tournament is a great idea. Using current TNA wrestlers and outside talent is another awesome way to show all the promising young talent on the indie circuit. There is potential for unique matches that bring a new perspective to the X-division. This has me excited to see the Destination X PPV that already has promise with Austin Aries & Robert Roode.

The Bound for Glory series is still going on. It’s still over complicated. It still makes no sense. Does the booking committee get ten points for making me tap out and change the channel when they start talking about the ins and outs of this convoluted brain child? If so then they’re on their way to 100, and quick.

Oh and Boobs Hogan had more camera time. Anyone else notice her face is what Hulk Hogan would like if he wasn’t going bald? Yeah that’s what I found out when I put it on mute. Poor Knockouts have to pretend they care what she has to say. No wonder Angelina Love left the company.

I refuse to talk about the AJ and Dixie segments. That’s talent abuse. AJ needs to be in one of those Sarah Mclachlan SPCA commercials after this whole angle is done. Just show his face in black and white with a sad song in the background. Then we can donate money so TNA never does this again.

TNA needs to figure out a lot before they commit too much to going down the over booked bad segment trail. This week’s episode was not going in the right direction. Just like Extreme Rising.

For those that don’t follow the indie scene, then you might not know about the ECW bastard child known as Exteme Rising. It is a cash grab by Shane Douglas to squeeze what is left out of the beaten corpse of ECW. After the first show that ended up being a trainwreck, they had round two over the weekend. It was two shows in New York City and Philly.

The concept is to take old ECW stars and mix them with new stars. This weekend was a positive start in rebuilding from the flaming crap storm that was their initial show. Yet this need to somehow associate the promotion with ECW only hamstrings how the shows will be seen. It will always be compared to ECW, and that won’t help the promotion. ECW was not as amazing as people remember, because like when people die, nobody remembers how big a douche bag they really were, but only the good moments. The same can be said for ECW.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved ECW. It was one of the reasons I got into wrestling. Yet people today seem to forget that ECW had its bumps. It had its failings. Anyone remember their deal with TNT? Yet now it is thought of as this promotion that did no wrong, and having Extreme Rising live in that shadow is going to make fans hold this new promotion to an unreachable standard.

I think that covers the week that was. I’m looking forward to RAW tonight, but history doesn’t look favorable as pre-holiday shows usually tread water instead of advancing storylines. Then again Punk & Bryan will deliver, and Jericho is back. Plus we should get some Ziggler love. All that is a good base for a quality RAW, and that is all I can ask for. That and AJ Styles getting traded to the WWE for Tensai. That should be part of the lawsuit settlement between TNA and the WWE.

Ring of Honor: Hard Hits & A Few Misses

Yesterday I decided it was worth the 12 dollars with my ringside membership to watch Ring of Honor’s latest iPPV offering, “Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis”. An iPPV with a title as long as “Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol”, and equally as enjoyable. Who doesn’t love a film with Bobcat, Bubba Smith, and The Guttenburg? The same people who don’t like wrestling shows involving teeth missing, broken tables, and girls in tight outfits. Luckily for me I am a fan of all these things, especially the Guttenburg.

Like Police Academy movies, Ring of Honor had its flaws on Sunday, but it was overshadowed by a slew of successes. I mean who thought it was a good idea to give Bobcat a gun? Probably the same person who came up with idea for the Guardians of Truth, including having them open the show.  Then again who cares about that when Adam Cole is stealing the show!

The iPPV problems Ring of Honor had during Border Wars seem to be a thing of the past. The feed for this show was crystal clear, and had minimal glitches that are not uncommon with normal cable HD. After a few minutes I had forgotten I was watching an iPPV. It was that good of a picture.

ROH kicked things off with the Briscoe Brothers against Truth Martini’s new mystery tag team, The Guardians of Truth. The Guardians are former WWE tag team champions the Headbangers in all black including full masks that make them look like generic versions of the Villanos. I’ve seen the Briscoes wrestle for almost a decade, and this might have been the worst match in their RoH careers. It could have been the loose and sagging ring ropes that threw them off, but I would give more credit to the Guardians.

The former Headbangers seemed to be having a bad day at the office. Their timing was off, and it looked a lot like when old aging stars work young guys at an indie show. A perfect example of this was at the finish when one stood at ring side watching the other about to get demolished by the Briscoe finisher, and did the “it takes me 20 seconds to slide under these ropes & help you” thing. These two are supposed to be athletic killing machines that can’t even slide under a rope. It might just be me, but this match wasn’t my cup of tea.

When I’ve booked shows in the past I have always had one important rule. The main event is the most important match, the opener is the second. The opener sets the tone for the night. It is the pace car that every other match is going to be judged on. This match told me that tonight was going to be sloppy. Luckily that turned out to be wrong, but it did take until Adam Cole got his teeth knocked out two matches later for my spirits to change. This put a damper on a good Homicide & Eddie Edwards contest between the two matches.

Homicide & Eddie Edwards had a good back and forth match. The announcers focused on Eddie’s injured arm, and a part of me wished Homicide did too. The thing is that wouldn’t have been in character for Homicide. He did some stuff with Eddie’s arm, but I wouldn’t call it an all-out assault on his arm.

Homicide has developed this amazing brawler persona, and that means he shouldn’t be taking apart his opponents injured area. He should be tossing everything including the kitchen sink at them, which is exactly what happened to Eddie Edwards. In the end it was too much as Homicide hit the gringo killer, a neck/shoulder based finisher, for the win. Picking up a “W” against Edwards can only mean Homicide has big things in his future, possibly a World title shot.

Holy Shit is all I can say about Adam Cole. There are matches or moments you can point to that make a wrestler in the eyes of the fans. It happened for Eddie Edwards when he wrestled with a broken elbow, and it happened last night for Adam Cole when he had his two teeth knocked out.

The concept of the match between Cole and Kyle O’Reilly was idiotic. The Hybrid styles concept should just be put in a shredder and forgotten quickly. The whole thing stinks of the Bound for Glory series in TNA, which is the stupidest thing in pro wrestling today. There are all these rules and regulations that can lead to fouls, and then on top of that there are different types of fouls. Plus there is a standing ten count, and probably a five minute penalty for roughing. I don’t know, but it wouldn’t have surprised me with all the ins and outs of this match. Anytime you actually need something longer than the Ten Commandments to describe the regulations of your wrestling match then it is overbooked. Just follow some advice from my grandma, Keep It Simple Shithead. My grandma had a dirty pirate mouth.

The match itself was off the charts good. The two traded blows with such violence that at one point a kick knocked out Cole’s teeth. Credit goes to the RoH camera crew for the close up of the teeth on the mat. Both had an amazing showing but it was Cole, who embraced the waterfall of blood spewing from his mouth, that put his stamp on the match. In the end Cole won with a figure four leglock, but that doesn’t matter as he skyrocketed himself into something bigger in RoH. I’m talking Tommy Dreamer taking a caning in ECW bigger.

Fit Finley & Michael Elgin followed with a good technical match. It started out slow, but had to after what had just happened. Fit Finley is one of the best vets on the Indie scene, and he looked to be moving better than both members of the Guardians of Truth combined. The two turned it up in the second half of the match as Elgin picked up the win with his impressive power bomb combo. Elgin is beginning to start his face turn as a feud between he & Roderick Strong has begun to brew.

Ring of Honor had a logic slip up during the match as Fit Finley used a Tombstone pile driver on Elgin for a two count. The main event was built around pile drivers being illegal. Something that was later rectified by the announcers during the main event when they said the ref was fined for not disqualifying Finley. It isn’t major, but little brain farts like this can mar a promotion if they are kept unchecked. Especially when one of the major angles is based around a move being banned, it doesn’t sell the idea well if other wrestlers are doing the banned move.

After intermission Mike Bennett with Bob Evans and Maria came to the ring. If it wasn’t for Maria Kanellis then I don’t think I would ever get excited for a Mike Bennett segment. In fact if from now on the camera just focused on Maria, it would greatly improve the segment all together. Mike Bennett continues to follow the “Being a Heel for Dummies” handbook.

Mike Mondo comes out. He drops a lot of F-bombs. He talks about beating Bennett and after he’ll do the humpty dance with Maria. Now if only that was a real stipulation. The two fight. It kicks off a new feud for ROH TV. It was good for what it was. Plus it got Maria in front of the camera in the best daisy dukes outside of Hazard County.

The television title three way dance was a good change of pace as it really ratcheted up the speed on the card. All three men were great in their roles, but Roderick Strong is heads and shoulders above most in the ring. His dropkick is a thing of beauty. Mia Yim doing a super kick was a cool moment that I hope gets included in more matches.

The end was all circus to further the story line between Ciampa, the embassy, & the house of truth. Then the quick finish between Strong & Lethal caught almost everybody by surprise, which wasn’t a bad thing. It made sense with all the chaos going on. Strong’s finisher is something everyone should see. When it is done right it might be more impressive than the Canadian Destroyer.

The World’s Greatest Tag Team and the All Night Express had a good tag match. The referee played up the WGTT too much as he would warn Haas about being in the ring, but never warned the ANX about it. That and he told Haas he wasn’t the legal man because he never tagged but turned around & counted a school boy when Haas was rolled up seconds later. Stick to your logic, and don’t count the guy you said wasn’t legal.

In the end the ANX won the titles. The place went nuts. It’s good for them, but the attack after looks like things are far from over. It stinks that they couldn’t celebrate more to get over the title change.

The main event was off the charts good. Kevin Steen is probably the best character in the whole company. He has charisma, a unique look, and can wrestle his ass off in any style. Davey Richards is growing into more than just the MMA guy. These two killed each other in a brutal match that featured tables, ladders, chairs, spikes, and some of the nastiest falls I’ve seen in years. This wasn’t a technical match, it was a brawl.

For those that enjoy the old ECW style then this is a match you’ll want to hunt down. It had tons of unique spots including a great moment where Jim Cornette gets manhandled by Steve Corino. Jimmy Jacobs as the lackey of Steen is a great tool for the champ. The two work really well together. I don’t expect Steen to drop the belt anytime soon as he is easily the biggest draw for fans.

His post-match verbal assault on the crowd proved that smart wrestling fans are idiots. He basically opened their mouths and shit down their throats as they cheered every moment of it. Smart wrestling fan really is an oxymoron. His anti-New York rant has me believing that Homicide could be next in line to end the reign of terror known as Kevin Steen, with a possible blow off match at Final Battle in December back in New York City. I don’t know for sure, but the booker in me sees the biggest dollar signs in that.

Overall Ring of Honor delivered on the best “pay per view” of the month. It was easily better than WWE’s No Way Out, and edged out TNA’s slammiversary. If you have a couple dollars, and four hours, then I highly recommend getting the replay. Either that or go watch Police Academy 4 on Netflix because Maria’s daisy dukes might be as good as Lt. Callahan’s white t-shirt.

TNA's Impact Wrestling: A Mixed Bag Of Nuts

(Courtesy of TNA)

It’s a rough day today at Grass Roots of Wrestling. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Oklahoma City Thunder fan. I have been since they were known as the Seattle Supersonics. Last night the young Thunder got knocked out of the NBA finals by the NBA’s version of the Mega Bucks. It was a great season for the Thunder, and I look forward to seeing what they do with the 28^th pick in the NBA Draft. This is the deepest draft in a decade.

I’m hoping All American Draymond Green from Michigan State University, who is a jack of all trades type of player, is available at the end of the first round. For a team not looking to shake up the first 8 players in their rotation, Green would fit well as the 9^th man on the bench because of his ability to bring a variety of basketball options to the team including passing, rebounding, and an extremely high basketball IQ. With a team that’s core group of players is around 23 years old collectively, I know the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to be a force in the years to come. This isn’t the end, just the beginning.

After the game I settled in to watch TNA’s Impact Wrestling on the DVR. I will have to admit I haven’t watched much TNA over the past year because every time I do I usually end up regretting what I am seeing. I think the frustrating part about TNA is that they have some of the most talented wrestlers in the business, but usually the promotion ends up dropping the ball with the misuse of talent, diluted storylines with too many twists as if the writers are trying to prove they’re smarter than the fans, or they try too hard to be a wrestling show pretending to be a reality show. You’re not the WWE, you’re Total Non-Stop Action. Highlight your athletic roster and stop trying to be another show on VH1.

Last night was another mixed bag of nuts on Impact Wrestling. First off, Austin Aries should be called “The Mint” because he prints money. His look, his mic skills, and his persona are better than almost anything in pro wrestling today. Then add in the fact he is one of the top five wrestlers walking the planet today, and you have a true bona fide star. I loved the opening segment because it helped elevate the X-division, it showed AA isn’t a moron because who turns down a shot at the world title, and it was a good use of Hulk Hogan to help get a star over instead of himself. Robert Roode vs. Austin Aries will probably be the best wrestling match on PPV in July for any company, WWE included.

The decision to make it that every year the X-division champion can trade the title for a world title shot at Destination X is a really good idea. The title already had importance, but now it will have more importance around TNA’s biggest time of the year, Slammiversary. If you are the X-champ after that PPV then you are guaranteed a title shot at the next PPV. It just adds more heat to any title bout. A big thumbs-up to TNA on elevating one of their second tier belts, unlike what the WWE has done with theirs. Who’s the US champ, and does anyone care?

The Bound for Glory series is another over thinker moment in TNA. I didn’t like it last year, and I don’t like it again this year. I guess it is for the stat nerds. If this happens then this can happen, blah blah blah. Why is a submission victory more important that a pinfall? Kurt Angle gets an Ankle Lock & its 10 points. Jeff Hardy nearly cripples RVD with a KO neck snapping twist of fate & its 7 points. It doesn’t make sense.

Also having Robbie E in the series makes no sense at all either. Crimson has lost one match in his TNA career and he is somehow out of it. What about Sting? He was in the Slammiversary main event a couple weeks back & now he can’t get into the Bound for Glory series. Yet Robbie E is out there getting torn apart by Kurt Angle. Also the Pope has been out for a bit, and he returns to a spot in the series. Maybe I missed something, but shouldn’t the guys who have been on TV be in the series, not a Jersey Shore midcarder & a dude straight off the shelf. Plus why do I care about Magnus? He’s an ok talent, but what about Kazarian? AJ & Angle are in the tournament, why not Daniels’ partner?

This Bound for Glory Series is another over thought angle that has too many holes in its logic. The six matches were ok, but nothing to write home about. The ten minute time limit puts restrictions on the talents to tell a story. There is just so much you can do in 6-8 minutes. How is this going to play on PPV, where 15-20 minute matches can do more to flesh out the feuds & characters? Until I see something special from this idea, it will continue to be a failure by TNA & a waste of talent.

Another waste of my time is Dixie Carter. I was lucky enough to marry a beautiful Indian woman. Her Grandma came to America from India years ago. When I hang out with Nani, we watch Indian soap operas on Zee TV. It’s how I am learning to speak Hindi. Anytime Dixie Carter is on my TV it looks like an Indian soap opera. She is over the top emotional for everything. On top of that she somehow sucks three of the best talents (AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Frankie Kazarian) into her web of soap opera suck.

The current storyline is that somehow Dixie & AJ are doing unspeakable deeds behind closed doors as Daniels & Kaz would have us all believe. Yet it isn’t that they are committing adultery, but helping a pregnant addict that they both know somehow. Are you kidding me? I hate when they bring addiction & this type of stuff into wrestling. So for the past few weeks AJ has been protecting the secret of an addict and letting his & Dixie’s names be dragged through the mud, including letting talents call them home wreckers. Now we just need an evil auntie with an oversized bindi, and this would be classic Indian soap opera.

There are too many non-wrestling, non-manager characters on the TNA roster. Hogan is the GM, Dixie is the owner, and Brooke Hogan is the Knockout Commish. Is Nick Hogan going to be the food & beverage manager next?

What does Brooke Hogan bring to the table? Just because Ivanka Trump is on the apprentice doesn’t mean Hulk’s kid has to be in TNA. The group meeting in multiple segments was a waste of time. A title match is on the line and everybody is just chillin’ like it’s a slumber party, catty comments & all. The Knockouts are leaps & bounds better in the ring than the WWE Divas, but their segments behind the scenes are just the pits.

“Let’s pow wow for a bit girls so I can get to know you”, hey Brooke how about you watch the product before you take the job! How does anyone get a job running a division in any business & have no idea about what makes up the division? If Brooke’s work was her boyfriend, it would cheat on her for being this horrible. The capper was having Velvet Sky & Mickie James together backstage as she made her decision, and there wasn’t much of a fight from Sky when Brooke picked James. She just hugs Mickie. I guess that title isn’t that important.

One Segment that is really original is the TNA Gut Check. The idea is great & it lets the audience see some of the amazing talent on the independent circuit. Each time Gut Check comes around I will tune in because I want to see fresh faces, and this is a perfect way to do it without taking away from your established talent. It makes the crowd care about somebody who will probably job out to an established talent.

Taeler Hendrix, this week’s Gut Checker, had a nice piece on her. Giving her a backstory like being a cancer survivor, and showing footage from some of her indie matches, helps develop why the fans should care about her. In the ring she was ok. She didn’t screw anything up, but there wasn’t any moment that popped out that made me want to see her again. Her look doesn’t set her apart from the other knockouts, and the way she took Tara’s finisher didn’t do much to help elevate the established veteran. I would be shocked if Ms. Hendrix survives her Gut Check. Good try, but better luck next time.

Bully Ray is another bright spot for the company. The former Dudley is probably the best heel in the company. On the mic he can get the crowd to riot. In the ring he is so physical. I hope he can get out of this Abyss feud soon, and move on to the title picture, especially if AA wins at Destination X. An undersized champ and a brutish bully, it writes itself. More Bully Ray, More Austin Aries, Less Boobs Hogan; That’s a recipe for success.

Again TNA’s Impact Wrestling was another episode of highs and lows. As one segment would make you want to keep watching, there was equally another segment that made you want to change the channel. The matches didn’t really move the needle as most looked to be more angle driven than anything. Again the 10 minute time limit forces too many matches to have the out of nowhere finish feeling. It is handcuffing TNAs ability to set themselves apart from the WWE, where the 6-8 minute match is their bread & butter.

This show, and the promotion overall, is a big mixed bag of nuts, which probably explains why they drive me crazy. Cut the crap, stop trying to be a full contact soap opera, and start being the action packed promotion you can be. I like the way Hulk Hogan is used. I like a lot of the wrestlers. The Knockouts can wrestle. Just stop trying to be a reality show with situational drama & out of the box concepts that water down the actual product. I don’t care about the backstage meetings & hug fests going on. Make me believe these people want to tear each other apart in & out of the ring. This is Pro Wrestling, not a Boy Scout camping trip. Less weenie roasting, and more action! There are too many lulls for this to be called Non-stop.