The Greatest Promotion That Never Happened

(Jimmy Jacobs, MMWA Play by Play man Dod March, and Jimmy Shawlin)

It has been a long time since I pulled out the digital quill and ink. I guess there are two reasons for this.

One, pro wrestling has sucked lately. Oh how bad has it sucked. I don't even watch regularly. When I do tune in I find myself tuning out minutes later. It just sucks. No need to mince words. Sucks pretty much covers it all.

That goes for both WWE and TNA. I don't get RoH in my television area, and don't have the attention span to watch on the internet without surfing over to other sites minutes later. This means the world of televised wrestling as a whole is just a big ball of suck.

The other reason I haven't written is in June my mom lost her battle with cancer. I guess it is hard to be creative when your heart isn't into it. I have put a lot on hold the past few months as I took time to grieve. I think now it is time to be gettin' on with life. I would say my creative fire finally got it's pilot light ignited again.

I don't know if this happens for everyone, but during this time I took a look back at life. The good, the bad, and the shitty. One of the times I looked back on was my days in pro wrestling. Talk about a time full of accomplishments and regrets. My time with the MMWA was full of both.

I've been thinking about this time a lot, and I think I want to do a detailed shoot interview going over this time. Indy wrestling fans seem to enjoy seeing the behind the scenes stuff even if it isn't WWE. It'll be good for my soul to tell these tales.

I am currently working with the people who own the footage for the MMWA because I don't want to just release a shoot interview of me on a couch talking wrestling for two hours. I want to put together a package that includes the final MMWA show that features Raven, AJ Styles, Jimmy Jacobs, Petey Williams, Joe Legend, and many more. I also want to put together a best of DVD to go with it that shows all the great talent and matches the promotion had like Chris Hero, Chris Sabin, Monty Brown, Jerry Lynn, etc.

I hope this happens but right now it is too early in the process to give any updates. I literally just facebooked the people involved last week with this simple message, "Hey, I've got an idea". There is of course money involved and the fact that most of the people had checked out of the world of wrestling years ago.

Fingers crossed kids.

May 1st, 2014 will be the ten year anniversary of the last show that the MMWA ran. It originally was going to be a TV taping for MMWA Rampage, but ended up being the swan song show that we sold as a stand alone DVD called Kalkaska Karnage.

I was the head booker at the time of this event. It was my second show where I was leading things for the MMWA creative team. I was 23 and looking to make my mark on the scene with this promotion. Jim Hall had handed the reigns over to me after the January show and I thought I could put out all the fires that had popped up.

The thing is I should have been putting out these fires in August, not when I took over in January.

I'll cover all of this in the DVD set. I want to tell the story from the start. From when I walked in the door. Go from being put on the booking team to heading it up to the plans I had post May 1st. There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff that never made the light of day. A lot of blame to go around for everyone involved, myself included.

To me there were three things that could have changed the outcome of the MMWA. I'll give you a taste of what will be on the DVD with these.

1. Should Have Taken The Money

MMWA Rampage was on Fox 33. That station covered all of Northern MI from Mt. Pleasant to the bridge. A lot of people don't know that we were offered two options when it came to MMWA Rampage. The first option was that we got to sell our own ads. The second was that the television station was going to offer us $150 per episode and they would handle ads. It's a basic syndication deal.

Of course you can make more money if you're selling the ads, but there is a lot more work involved. The owner at the time had sales experience and thought he could make a mint on ad space. Turns out it was like pulling teeth. Instead, if you do the math on how much money we made in ads vs. money that could have been made on a 13 episode syndication run, we ended up losing money.

The thing is we still could have sold advertising on the TV while taking the $150 per episode, just not in the traditional sense. We had a great segment with Mt. Dew called the "Mt. Dew Slam Of The Week". Also there was an interview area that could have been sponsored. These types of ads wouldn't have violated our deal and would have given us the chance to make more cash on our TV deal.

Had this been the way we went I believe MMWA could have survived. It would have freed up the owner from the pressure of chasing advertisers, brought in a steady cash flow, and established a successful model to pitch to other networks to expand the brand. We did our own video in house from taping to editing. It was at a professional level by 2003 standards.

2. Book A Different Building

In January the MMWA ran a building in Cadillac that the WWE runs when it does house shows. I should have stood up against this. Some people wanted to be big fish in small ponds and decided running a local armory or high school gym wasn't good enough. They needed to have the MMWA name up on the same marquee as the WWE. In the end it probably cost the company everything.

I don't know what the rent was for the arena. I wasn't privy to financials at that time. I mean it is the same exact arena the WWE runs. There were cheaper venues by far. If these venues would have been used then not only would it have saved the promotion money, but probably wouldn't have put the MMWA in a deep debt that it couldn't escape.

On that same show we booked Shane Douglas as the headliner. I gave this the thumbs up. Knowing what I know now this was a waste of money. Not to say Shane wasn't great to have, but Northern MI is an old school area. We would have been better served paying half the price of Shane for an old WWF name like Greg Valentine or Big Boss Man (who passed suddenly 9 months later).

The same building problem goes for the final show in Kalkaska. We ran this huge ice arena and used maybe 1/6 of the space. It could hold thousands of people, and we didn't need that many. The thing about this show is we had a local business man helping us out. He was connected to everyone. We had access to a smaller gym that would have been dirt cheap to rent. Had we run this gym, and not this massive arena, it would have made a four figure difference in the final tally. As the head booker that is on me for not drawing a line in the sand on the arena choice. I should have known it would put us behind the 8 ball.

Put both of those building decisions together and maybe the MMWA is here today. Add it in with 600 dollars in syndication money each event would have been worth (4 shows tape per event), and maybe the MMWA is actually making money monthly. Again I don't know for sure.

3. The Territories Aren't Dead

In wrestling most people run one town once a month. In Northern MI this couldn't happen. Most people up north aren't shelling out the money to take their family to wrestling each month. I grew up in that kind of area. When something rolls around once a year then you come out cause it's a unique event. Think about local carnivals coming in the spring/summer, would they make money if they came to the same town every month? Probably not. Wrestling in Northern Michigan is the same way.

When I took over booking, I was pushing for a new territory model to the MMWA. Thanks to the TV coverage on Fox 33 we had a huge area of potential markets. I was putting together a touring schedule that would have taken the MMWA to at least 14 different cities during the calendar year including the large four in the TV area: Cadillac, Traverse City, Mt. Pleasant, and Big Rapids.

We could have popped each town then let it simmer for the year while watching our TV and then come back again a year later to pop them again. Rinse, repeat.

I was even working on booking Rick Steiner for a loop run with us. Most promotions couldn't bring in big names for 4-5 straight shows. The allure of the name usually wears off in a market after the first appearance. Yet with the touring territory model it would have been his first appearance at each show. It also would have allowed for our TV to have the presence of Rick Steiner as an MMWA regular. I wanted him to feud with Conrad Kennedy III (most know him as Krimson now).

I believed this model of touring would have kept attendance numbers up but the challenge would have been getting a building in each city, selling sponsorships, and getting the word out.

If we could have put all three together: TV money, booking proper buildings, and a touring schedule. Then I believe that the MMWA would have stayed in business. This didn't happen because of a lot of people, but it was also because of me. I let these mistakes happen. I'm as much to blame as anyone else.

It is things like this and other stories that I want to tell on the DVD. I want to talk about how we got Raven for Kalkaska on a sweet deal. I'm talking bargain basement cheap.

I'll let you know more as it builds. I hope this project comes together.

Jimmy Jacobs Podcast



Over the weekend I talked about Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino doing a shoot interview together. It looks great. I'm a huge Jimmy Jacobs fan. I have been since I met in early 2000. He was "Jumping" Jimmy Jacobs. He would come to the ring wearing a big goofy hat and jumping around on a pogo stick. He also struck a cord with the fans. He came to the promotion we worked for as the little brother of Blitzkrieg Kid, and in months was shoe horning his way into the main event picture. He proved you can't keep true talent down.

One of my favorite dirt sheet sites is Lords of Pain. They put out a Podcast featuring an interview with Jimmy. It's a really good listen. They talk business, Olympics, WWE Hall of Fame, Age of the Fall, and Big Stars that act like morons. I recommend putting in the earbuds and letting this play. Like I said, it is a very entertaining interview.

Check it out:

Buy This!

It's no secret that Steve Corino is a fan favorite around these parts. You can put Jimmy Jacobs on that list too. One of the best things to come out of the destruction of Kayfabe is shoot interviews. There is a metric ton of tapes full of great shoot interviews. This latest from both Corino and Jacobs is sure to be a hit.

I think the best shoot interviews are probably the ones over the years put out by Jim Cornette. He usually doesn't pull punches and has some great stories. Sabu did one a few years back. It was kinda weird because he kept acting like he thought the camera was off. Now there is the "Full Case of Tales" series from High Spots.

Take a wrestler(s) and mix in booze. Soon the stories flow like wine. It is a nice concept. For one the alcohol relaxes those who need it. Also it gives a great excuse when a wrestler crosses a line. Don't blame me, I was drunk.

Give this preview a look and go buy the DVD. Believe me it will be worth it. Plus it supports both Corino and Jacobs. That is always a good thing. Buy it, Watch it, and laugh.

String Pullers: The Evolution of the Creative Process in Professional Wrestling (Part 3)

Here is the final part of my Senior Thesis. It takes a look at the future of professional wrestling. This includes my theory on what will make a successful booker/writer in the current wrestling environment. Enjoy!

The Main Event: The Future of the Creative Process

            As professional wrestling continues on with this constant evolution, the rift created in professional wrestling will widen, or begin to verge into a new era of the creative process in professional wrestling. I believe that the next stage of evolution that will solve the rift in professional wrestling is a hybrid of the traditional skills of a wrestling booker to weave the history of the sport inside the limitations of the genre fused with the trained skills and natural talents of a college educated English major with a background in various creative mediums. In seeing the growth of professional wrestling as an evolution then the same traits of the theory of evolution apply to the creative process. The theory of evolution is based on the strongest attributes “accumulating and the result is an entirely different organism” (Allaboutscience.org). This belief in the theory of evolution would lead to the eventual hybrid of traditional booker and creative writer.

            The creative process hybrid that would come from this next stage of evolution would possess the trained skills of a professional writer to develop in depth story lines enhanced with the writer's natural talents in the creative realm. These natural talents in creativity are no different than the athletic skills of a sports figure. As in sports all athletes must respect and understand the limitations of their sport to fully achieve success, something understood and practiced by bookers.

            In the game of basketball the ability to jump is necessary, just as the ability to create a basic story line is necessary to the creative process in wrestling. If a person could jump twenty feet that person would be seen in the same light as some of the professional writers who possess similar amazing abilities when it comes to creative writing. The limitations of basketball would dictate the restrictions of this ability as the basketball hoop, which represents the purpose of the sport, is only ten feet high. If a player has tremendous skills, such as jumping twenty feet, but is constantly violating the limitations of the sport by jumping beyond the basketball hoop then that player is letting that tremendous ability prevent success instead of achieve it.

            This same respect for the limitations of the creative process in professional wrestling is found in the history of professional wrestling. This ability to know and excel under these limitations is what the professional booker in wrestling brings to the new hybrid in the evolution of the creative process. As professional wrestling moves beyond the niche audience that has made up wrestling's fan base, and expands to a global audience, the need for bookers to develop trained skills in creative writing, and to possess a natural ability to understand how to thrive in the new global digital age, becomes a requirement for survival.

            As professional wrestling evolved the need for these skills became a kin to that of predator, who excelled in a small habitat, needing to gain a stronger and faster approach when that habitat became expansive. No longer can the usual skills that helped on such a small scale be of the same effect on a larger scale. This is the purpose of evolution, not only just in wrestling, but in life. Now that the habitat for professional wrestling has changed; the people behind the scenes need to change with it, or become extinct.

The Post-Show Reviews: Criticisms and Conclusions

            As with all things that involve change there can be skeptics toward the evolution of professional wrestling’s creative process. Gabe Sapolsky, when asked about this theory of the next phase in professional wrestling, had his doubts when he said, “This would seem like it would be the best of both world's on paper, in reality I'm not sure if it would work because the two viewpoints might not be able to co-exist” (Sapolsky). I agree that the two viewpoints wouldn't exist because the role of evolution would weave these viewpoints into one viewpoint creating this new creative process in wrestling. In doing this both viewpoints become a thing of the past as the evolution in the creative process replaces them with one viewpoint built on the strengths of both viewpoints while weeding out the flaws.

            While those in professional wrestling can be skeptical towards change; there is consensus that wrestling in some way will always be changing. There is an agreement that for better, or for worse, professional wrestling is in a constant state of change with new ideas and characters to continue the path of wrestling's history that extends centuries before today's current state of wrestling. This new evolution of professional wrestling writing is seen by Jimmy Jacobs when he says,

“There are old traditional wrestling bookers who book good enough television aimed to traditionally get fans emotionally invested with traditional heel and baby face roles; this can work to an extent but can often be unspectacular. There are also many wrestling television writers that, while perhaps entertaining, can fail to emotionally captivate fans and can come off as over the top or cheesy. The foundation of traditional professional wrestling concepts set in new creative ways will, in my opinion, always make for good television“ (Jacobs)

This recognition of the need for a hybrid of the strengths of both traditional booker and professional writer is the beginning of the evolution of professional wrestling's creative process in the decades to come.

            As this evolution continues through professional wrestling, one aspect will never change as pointed out by Roland Barthes. This aspect is that “wrestlers remain gods because they are, for a few moments, the key which opens Nature, the pure gesture which separates Good from Evil, and unveils the form of Justice, which is at last intelligible” (Barthes 25). This basic moral situation is the heart of professional wrestling, and will remain a constant during the evolution of professional wrestling. As the hybrid form of the creative process begins to take shape this role of professional wrestling in society will keep wrestling anchored to its purpose. The evolution of the creative process in professional wrestling, fusing the strengths of both booker and writer, will bring a new way to extend the purpose of professional wrestling to a wider audience in the new digital age for the near future and beyond. 

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>

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.

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.