What a wild & wooly weekend it was, folks, in both the mainstream entertainment & pro wrestling worlds...so without further ado, although there was very little previous ado, lets roll the videotape!
FACTS OF LIFE STAR-LESBIAN!- When I first read this headline on one of the various websites, my heart started to race...could it be? Is this even possible?
Then, I started trying to break down the possibilities before reading the article- which one is most likely to, ehrm, share my tendencies?
Blair- snotty blonde, spoiled rotten, daddys girl- wouldn't happen. As close as she would have got was a drunken college kiss.
Tootie- cute little taste of caramel, loved the roller skates- I definitely got the impression, however, that she wasn't too interested in her housemates.
Natalie- chunky, nerdy, & insecure- there was a slight chance there, just out of lack of options, but, after the episode where she lost her viginity, she was pretty well a lock to stay with him, again, most likely due to lack of options.
JO- this is where my money was- tough, tomboyish, motorcycle rider, pretty yet rugged. Could easily envision her w ALL the other girls on the show, plus the females members of HEAD OF THE CLASS.
No brainer.
Chaz Bono- wasn't on show. no longer a female, so technically disqualified.
MOLLY RINGWALD?!- no dice.
Imagine my surprise when it was revealed that ,Geri, the cerebral palsy- inflicted cousin of Blair, was revealed, in her new autobiography, that SHE is, in fact, a lesbian.
I'm gonna throw my red beanbag here & for a review- does she truly count? Didn't she appear in like 5 episodes over the entire run? Not to mention, what a letdown.....plus, I refuse to make jokes about someone who has had to overcome so many real obstacles in her life.
************************************************
I, and likely about 5,000 others, tuned in this past saturday night to a somewhat lost genre, of the "has been in a low budget film " ilk , as 80's pop stars Debbie Gibson & Tiffany joined forces to create the SyFy "Original" film, Gatoroid vs Mega Python!!!!
Heres my quick & candid thoughts on this instant classic:
1) the special effects were, in a word, riveting- I literally felt like the Mega Python was literally about to jump thru the tv screen
2) former daytime star A Martinez was about as credible as Father Guido Sarducci.
3) Debbie Gibson needs to eat a few meals
4) Tiffany could stand to eat a few fewer meals
5) Mickey Dolantz of the Monkees looked like Joe Cocker
I understand a sequel may be in the works- God, I hope!
*****************************************************
Finally folks, Alberto Del Rio, Mexican superstar, &, as you may recall, one of my odds on favorites, won the annual WWE Royal Rumble, thus securing himself a world championship shot at Wrestlemania.
Del Rio increasingly became my favorite in recent weeks, due to his constant losses & embarassments at the hands of Shawn Michaels, R Truth, & others.
The WWE hand is know starting to show for Wrestlemania, and thus far, its shaping up like this:
World Title: Edge vs Del Rio
WWE title: Miz vs. Cena
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
Based on tv from this past friday, I'm pretty confident that Rhodes will soon, as in probably this week, start working in a mask, to "protect" his face, which is a nice touch to a program between the two.
Cena & Miz is an obvious direction, as is Orton vs. Punk. No surprises here.
Very surprised, however, that Triple H DID NOT return last night-
Also very surprised that Kevin Nash, in his frist WWE appearance in 6plus years, didn't blow out a knee or tear a quad during his 75 seconds of actual participation in the Royal Rumble.
Welcome back Booker T! Always entertaining, SUCKA!
Of course, the big loser this week was TNA, who were set to bring both Nash & Booker back this week as part of their latest incarnation of the "THEY" deal. Who will "THEY" be now?
Always a bad idea to tip your hand publicly as to what your plans are, not sign the talent to a contract before the information leaks, then have a billionaire rival promoter snatch up the two guys you earmarked for the spot just because he can....
Already word is going around that Nash may be working behind the scenes, potentially in creative....um, uh, great idea, guys!
Booker may be used as an announcer, or as a manager- I'm not sure how either position may fit his talents, but I certainly don't blame him for snagging the paycheck.
**********************************************
So until next time
SSS
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A Flair for the Broke
"Snowmageddon 2011!" is now in the books, and after an evening/afternoon of snow removal, I can safely say that I could care less if I see another flake of snow until next year- I'm not big on manual labor, but I enjoy FREE manual labor even less.....
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair is once again in the headlines this week, after demanding a cash advance during the TNA tour stop in Dublin,Ireland. When he was denied his request, he refused to get on the tour bus going to the next tour stop in Germany.
I try to never pass judgement on stories such as these, but it seems to have been verified by enough people that it is, at least, mostly true.
Ric Flair is one of my true wrestling heroes- his work,his interviews, his style epitomized what I ( and alot of others) thought to be the best of wrestling as a kid- he was so good, in fact, that all the way into my 30's, I believed Flair was the richest athlete in the world ( an exaggeration, but I think you know what I mean)
But theres a certain sadness in reading reports that a 62 year old man, who has earned millions in his career, is trying to borrow money from the other talent on the tour, demanding advances from his bosses, & being unable to fulfill his promise to pick up the entire crews bar bill because his Credit Cards are maxed out.
This isn't a judgement against Ric Flair- I'm not qualified to judge anybody, especially with my track record- but theres some serious psychological issues at play here, & our hero may need more help than anyone can give him.
I remember a few years back, watching the much talked about Mickey Rourke movie, The Wrestler. While a good film, most people I knew compared Rourke's character, Randy The Ram, to another of our business' casualties, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. While there were certainly parallels, I thought the character more closely resembled Ric Flair. Especially the 2009-2011 Ric Flair, not only in the ring, but out.
I have heard Flair say numerous times in interviews that there is "no money in being Richard Fleihr" ( his real name) but plenty in being Ric Flair- which is what, I assume, compels a man of his age to continue to wear expensive clothing, pricey watches, run up huge bar tabs, run with much younger women (god, all this sounds so fun) etc.- even though he can no longer afford to do so.
But the real issue here is the mans personal belief that Richard Fleihr has no value- so, to retain any level of self esteem, he has to continue to live a charade for which he can no longer pay.
Apparently, this lifestyle has lead to numerous conflicts with his oldest & dearest friends, reneging on business agreements, & selling personal memorabilia for pennies on the dollar to satiate the craving to be the "Nature Boy".
I'm personally quite concerned that we haven't yet heard the last chapter of Flair's story, and that the future chapters will get even worse....
To his credit, however, Flair did indeed show up for his commitments, and apparently apologized publicly to the TNA boys for his behavior. One can only hope.....
Until next time....
SSS
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair is once again in the headlines this week, after demanding a cash advance during the TNA tour stop in Dublin,Ireland. When he was denied his request, he refused to get on the tour bus going to the next tour stop in Germany.
I try to never pass judgement on stories such as these, but it seems to have been verified by enough people that it is, at least, mostly true.
Ric Flair is one of my true wrestling heroes- his work,his interviews, his style epitomized what I ( and alot of others) thought to be the best of wrestling as a kid- he was so good, in fact, that all the way into my 30's, I believed Flair was the richest athlete in the world ( an exaggeration, but I think you know what I mean)
But theres a certain sadness in reading reports that a 62 year old man, who has earned millions in his career, is trying to borrow money from the other talent on the tour, demanding advances from his bosses, & being unable to fulfill his promise to pick up the entire crews bar bill because his Credit Cards are maxed out.
This isn't a judgement against Ric Flair- I'm not qualified to judge anybody, especially with my track record- but theres some serious psychological issues at play here, & our hero may need more help than anyone can give him.
I remember a few years back, watching the much talked about Mickey Rourke movie, The Wrestler. While a good film, most people I knew compared Rourke's character, Randy The Ram, to another of our business' casualties, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. While there were certainly parallels, I thought the character more closely resembled Ric Flair. Especially the 2009-2011 Ric Flair, not only in the ring, but out.
I have heard Flair say numerous times in interviews that there is "no money in being Richard Fleihr" ( his real name) but plenty in being Ric Flair- which is what, I assume, compels a man of his age to continue to wear expensive clothing, pricey watches, run up huge bar tabs, run with much younger women (god, all this sounds so fun) etc.- even though he can no longer afford to do so.
But the real issue here is the mans personal belief that Richard Fleihr has no value- so, to retain any level of self esteem, he has to continue to live a charade for which he can no longer pay.
Apparently, this lifestyle has lead to numerous conflicts with his oldest & dearest friends, reneging on business agreements, & selling personal memorabilia for pennies on the dollar to satiate the craving to be the "Nature Boy".
I'm personally quite concerned that we haven't yet heard the last chapter of Flair's story, and that the future chapters will get even worse....
To his credit, however, Flair did indeed show up for his commitments, and apparently apologized publicly to the TNA boys for his behavior. One can only hope.....
Until next time....
SSS
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Pleased to announce that, after already losing my $20 in this years office NFL playoff picks, I finally got a few predictions right, as my selections for BOTH the NFC & AFC Championship games came true.
Now, Super Bowl Predictions: The Black Eyed Peas will suck the life out of halftime, & for that matter, LIFE, & Pittsburgh, much to my chagrin, will defeat the Packers.
************************************
I am so uninspired by WWE tv that I'm likely to skip the Royal Rumble this year, despite the marketing ploy that its "Bigger" this year, with an added 10 participants thrown into the mix.
Making something bigger doesn't make it better, and this is another attempt to cover a knife wound with a bandaid- instead of addressing the obvious flaws in the "writing" ( and God, how I hate that term) they tack on 10 more entrys to make you think it the most important Rumble ever.
I'm certainly glad for the guys who get the additional payoff that the 2nd biggest show of the year brings, but, as I heard one person say, adding 10 guys who you KNOW have no shot of winning just saturates the event itself. Very True.
As previously noted, its not necessarily about WHAT you do, its HOW you do it, that entices the paying fan to shell out $45 to watch a given event-and WWE, formerly the masters at this approach, have clearly lost their touch.
How else can you explain wasting 2 hours the week before your 2nd biggest show of the year having 3 girls fight over a preliminary wrestler ( all apologies to Daniel Bryan, who is a great worker,but his position is of a underneath guy; no disrespect intended AT ALL) , having the World Champion qualify for the final spot in the Rumble ( aren't all participants vying for a shot at the title that he already holds?) & having John Cena making rectum jokes & mugging for the cameras again, ala Bill Cosby in his old Coke & Jell-O Pudding Pops commercials.
There's literally nothing to sink your teeth into from a episodic television perspective, and thats why, every year, the buyrates drop- I'm just waiting for them to blame the always stimulating Pro Bowl for this years drop in buyrates...WTF ever.
*************************************************
New to the list of " Do's & Dont's" in wrestling: never stand outside the curtain,while the card is going on, signing autographs. It distracts from whats going on in the ring, & it just reeks of unprofessionalism & poor grasp of wrestling ettiquette. It is, in general, disrespectful & inappropriate. During intermission & after the card is the proper time & place for the fans- we need them, so they deserve respect- but you need to know when & where. But then again, if you haven't been taught, how can you expect to learn?
*************************************************
CPW will kick off 2011 at the Old Keyser Fire Hall this saturday night, Jan 29, at 730 pm, with a CPW title match featuring Hyjinx vs Bill Bain, and a Pole Battle Royale as the headline matches. The Fire Hall is a great place to watch live wrestling, since its a tight room with no sight obstructions. The building is slated to be torn down sometime this spring, which will conclude a big piece of CPW's history when it happens- CPW first started doing events there in February 2003, and has done a minimum of 5 events per year there since, with a period of almost monthly shows from 2004-2007.
I hope to see you there.
*************************************************
I posted something ridiculous on my Facebook wall yesterday, talking about my families "big secret"- that, of course, was to poke fun at the worlds foremost media whore, Ms Oprah Winfrey, and her ridiculous announcement of her families "big secret", that she has a sister,given up for adoption 50 plus years ago, that she just met over Thanksgiving.
Lets be honest here- who gives a shit? This was just another in a long line of headline hogging grabs by a multi millionare media master whose main talent seems to be her ability to make a whole lot of people believe shes "just like them"- got news, Oprah: people make discoveries everyday about their families,their pasts, etc- the big difference here is that the rest of us don't send out an APB to the world to announce every little detail about our lives; Moreover, alot of hard working folks donate their time & money to charities & causes- and unlike you, we don't have the ability to roll out a camera crew & film it to show on our network. If you really want most of us to believe your so benevolent, try doing something without shooting it from 5 angles, & without bringing the staff reporters from US magazine & People.
So until next time.....
SSS
Now, Super Bowl Predictions: The Black Eyed Peas will suck the life out of halftime, & for that matter, LIFE, & Pittsburgh, much to my chagrin, will defeat the Packers.
************************************
I am so uninspired by WWE tv that I'm likely to skip the Royal Rumble this year, despite the marketing ploy that its "Bigger" this year, with an added 10 participants thrown into the mix.
Making something bigger doesn't make it better, and this is another attempt to cover a knife wound with a bandaid- instead of addressing the obvious flaws in the "writing" ( and God, how I hate that term) they tack on 10 more entrys to make you think it the most important Rumble ever.
I'm certainly glad for the guys who get the additional payoff that the 2nd biggest show of the year brings, but, as I heard one person say, adding 10 guys who you KNOW have no shot of winning just saturates the event itself. Very True.
As previously noted, its not necessarily about WHAT you do, its HOW you do it, that entices the paying fan to shell out $45 to watch a given event-and WWE, formerly the masters at this approach, have clearly lost their touch.
How else can you explain wasting 2 hours the week before your 2nd biggest show of the year having 3 girls fight over a preliminary wrestler ( all apologies to Daniel Bryan, who is a great worker,but his position is of a underneath guy; no disrespect intended AT ALL) , having the World Champion qualify for the final spot in the Rumble ( aren't all participants vying for a shot at the title that he already holds?) & having John Cena making rectum jokes & mugging for the cameras again, ala Bill Cosby in his old Coke & Jell-O Pudding Pops commercials.
There's literally nothing to sink your teeth into from a episodic television perspective, and thats why, every year, the buyrates drop- I'm just waiting for them to blame the always stimulating Pro Bowl for this years drop in buyrates...WTF ever.
*************************************************
New to the list of " Do's & Dont's" in wrestling: never stand outside the curtain,while the card is going on, signing autographs. It distracts from whats going on in the ring, & it just reeks of unprofessionalism & poor grasp of wrestling ettiquette. It is, in general, disrespectful & inappropriate. During intermission & after the card is the proper time & place for the fans- we need them, so they deserve respect- but you need to know when & where. But then again, if you haven't been taught, how can you expect to learn?
*************************************************
CPW will kick off 2011 at the Old Keyser Fire Hall this saturday night, Jan 29, at 730 pm, with a CPW title match featuring Hyjinx vs Bill Bain, and a Pole Battle Royale as the headline matches. The Fire Hall is a great place to watch live wrestling, since its a tight room with no sight obstructions. The building is slated to be torn down sometime this spring, which will conclude a big piece of CPW's history when it happens- CPW first started doing events there in February 2003, and has done a minimum of 5 events per year there since, with a period of almost monthly shows from 2004-2007.
I hope to see you there.
*************************************************
I posted something ridiculous on my Facebook wall yesterday, talking about my families "big secret"- that, of course, was to poke fun at the worlds foremost media whore, Ms Oprah Winfrey, and her ridiculous announcement of her families "big secret", that she has a sister,given up for adoption 50 plus years ago, that she just met over Thanksgiving.
Lets be honest here- who gives a shit? This was just another in a long line of headline hogging grabs by a multi millionare media master whose main talent seems to be her ability to make a whole lot of people believe shes "just like them"- got news, Oprah: people make discoveries everyday about their families,their pasts, etc- the big difference here is that the rest of us don't send out an APB to the world to announce every little detail about our lives; Moreover, alot of hard working folks donate their time & money to charities & causes- and unlike you, we don't have the ability to roll out a camera crew & film it to show on our network. If you really want most of us to believe your so benevolent, try doing something without shooting it from 5 angles, & without bringing the staff reporters from US magazine & People.
So until next time.....
SSS
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A Special Occasion
It has been a few days, due to limited time & internet access at work,and honestly, a real lack of things that I wanted to talk about...I think sometimes the fun can run out of doing a thing like a blog if you feel as though you're obligated to talk about something, instead of just talking about the things about which you have formed an opinion.
NFL WEEKEND PREDICTION: since I did so well in the pool at work on playoff weekend 1 ( a perfect 0-4) I figured I'd give it a shot now that the pool is narrowed down to 2 games:
Green Bay over Chicago , & Pittsburgh over Jets. Personally,I'm indifferent to the NFC game, even though I dislike neither & was a Bears fans as a kid ( loved the Super Bowl Shuffle...:) But DEFINITELY want Jets to beat the Steelers....Its rare when any teams fans are more arrogant & obnoxious than any NY team, but Pittsburgh gets the nod in this catagory.
**********************************
On January 22,1993, I tag teamed with Shane Shoemaker to face the tandem of Nate Mcclung & Doug Grubb in front of about 400 people in the old livestock arena in Boonsboro,Md.
Last night, on January 22,2011, in front of about 200 people at the Civic Center in Ranson,Wv, I officially kicked off my 19th year in wrestling, with a very unique & special bonus: my oldest son, Jeffrey, wrestled his first pro match. We now have the distinction of wrestling our respective first matches on the same date!
I remember when I started having a conversation with my brother Shawn, who is the person most responsible for me becoming a fan at the age of 8- he told me that one of two things would happen: I'd either stay in it forever, or I would see all its (wrestlings) flaws, learn to hate it, & walk away from it, as both a participant & fan, forever.
I am proud to say, even after all these years, its still the former & not the latter- I love an audience, I love the action, but most of all, I love the people who come up to me during intermission, talking about how they remember me doing this or that at various events over the years- you can't help but be proud of something like that, and I definitely am. Its been my honor to entertain you all.
I've never been a big star, never made big money, & that isn't likely to happen at this stage on my life- but I followed my dream, made a few bucks, met & befriended some great people I would have likely never met otherwise, been to some towns so small they don't appear on maps,& had a great time doing it- and I'm not gonna stop anytime soon!
My son has refereed since he was 16 years old, and has become quite good, in my unbiased opinion; last night, he did quite well for a young man with about 3 days of actual wrestling training- even though, in all reality, hes kinda been training & preparing for this moment his entire life.....and, nervous as he was, when his moment came, he made the most it- which all any of us can do.
Special thanks to the good Doctor, Doc Gregory, for his assistance in getting Jeff ready for this moment- you really took one for the team, brother! :)
So, until next time...
SSS
NFL WEEKEND PREDICTION: since I did so well in the pool at work on playoff weekend 1 ( a perfect 0-4) I figured I'd give it a shot now that the pool is narrowed down to 2 games:
Green Bay over Chicago , & Pittsburgh over Jets. Personally,I'm indifferent to the NFC game, even though I dislike neither & was a Bears fans as a kid ( loved the Super Bowl Shuffle...:) But DEFINITELY want Jets to beat the Steelers....Its rare when any teams fans are more arrogant & obnoxious than any NY team, but Pittsburgh gets the nod in this catagory.
**********************************
On January 22,1993, I tag teamed with Shane Shoemaker to face the tandem of Nate Mcclung & Doug Grubb in front of about 400 people in the old livestock arena in Boonsboro,Md.
Last night, on January 22,2011, in front of about 200 people at the Civic Center in Ranson,Wv, I officially kicked off my 19th year in wrestling, with a very unique & special bonus: my oldest son, Jeffrey, wrestled his first pro match. We now have the distinction of wrestling our respective first matches on the same date!
I remember when I started having a conversation with my brother Shawn, who is the person most responsible for me becoming a fan at the age of 8- he told me that one of two things would happen: I'd either stay in it forever, or I would see all its (wrestlings) flaws, learn to hate it, & walk away from it, as both a participant & fan, forever.
I am proud to say, even after all these years, its still the former & not the latter- I love an audience, I love the action, but most of all, I love the people who come up to me during intermission, talking about how they remember me doing this or that at various events over the years- you can't help but be proud of something like that, and I definitely am. Its been my honor to entertain you all.
I've never been a big star, never made big money, & that isn't likely to happen at this stage on my life- but I followed my dream, made a few bucks, met & befriended some great people I would have likely never met otherwise, been to some towns so small they don't appear on maps,& had a great time doing it- and I'm not gonna stop anytime soon!
My son has refereed since he was 16 years old, and has become quite good, in my unbiased opinion; last night, he did quite well for a young man with about 3 days of actual wrestling training- even though, in all reality, hes kinda been training & preparing for this moment his entire life.....and, nervous as he was, when his moment came, he made the most it- which all any of us can do.
Special thanks to the good Doctor, Doc Gregory, for his assistance in getting Jeff ready for this moment- you really took one for the team, brother! :)
So, until next time...
SSS
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Alex Shelley & Improv
Not alot really going on on any fronts the last few days, other than the report that Alex Shelley of the Motor City Machine Guns broke his collarbone during their match vs. Generation Me this past sunday in Hagerstown,Md.
I thought something was amiss, just based on the way Shelley held his arm & the expression on his face. However, he did work the body of the match before "hot tagging" his partner,Chris Sabin to finish the match- which will be the central theme of todays blog: how to "make it up on the fly" in a professional wrestling match.
I can honestly say that the only wrestling match I ever had planned out, begining to end, was my first one, & the following night, where I was matched up with the same guys ( and in retrospect, due to the different roles we played each night, that shouldn't have happened-more on that another time)
Whenever I can, I try to watch the matches before mine- this, I found, makes it easy to find different things to do that the crowd hadn't yet seen on the card. All too often, you have guys working the card who will do the EXACT same things....for example, climb the buckles for crowd approval. How many times a night does anyone really want to see that? No matter, they see it 5 times a night regardless.
I have general rules: If I'm working with someone I've never met or watched, I do have a basic outline of of a match that I use- I call it the "Ol' Stock & Trade" match- its designed to get good crowd response while not putting anyone in serious jeapordy of injury, namely me. And its a match that I can work either way- its so simple, so basic, & its two things most guys don't think about doing. I'm different, not dangerous! :)
Otherwise, its just feel & go, walk & talk, & lets go home-and live to fight yet another day. Don't get hurt- most of us don't do this full time, & we all have to go to work Monday morning!
I want to be different- if everyone else is screaming, I'm gonna talk; if everyone else is brawling, I want to work a mat based style. That way, you always stand out....and most of the time, standing out is good, not only because it creates excitement with the fans because you changed things up, but it usually favors you at intermission- which is where the bread is really buttered on the independent wrestling scene.
Working this way can also help you cover up mistakes & missteps- I couldn't tell you the number of times I have sat in a cramped room, putting my boots on, while two, four, or six young enthusiastic guys run thru the upcoming match, detail by excrutiating detail ( all the way down to pretending to whip each other into the ropes, slams, etc etc ) putting on the best match no one will ever see- because, lets face it, it NEVER turns out how you plan it. So why bother?
I try to make a point of watching these particular matches, because I'm always curious as to how they will save it when something goes wrong. Now, mind you, I'm not hoping for this to happen; that would make me a pessimistic a**hole, and rooting for guys to screw up is just plain prickish.
Heres my point: no one ever plans "down time" in wrestling match, so if you just screwed up doing 2-3 big moves, the mind will naturally race to get back to where you were, ignoring these facts: no one in the crowd knew where you were in the match (the fans, remember? the people you're supposed to be there to entertain?) & b) anxiety doesn't lend itself to performance. Grab a hold. Catch your breath. You have to bring them (fans) down to bring them back up.
I'm not saying that Alex Shelley would have avoided his injury, because these things happen; I just believe that he probably worsened it by staying in the ring because its "the way things were planned"...and Ibelieve the only reason he didn't tag out & not return until the finish was do to the structure of the match. I do,however, admire Shelley's resolve in "finishing what he started"- he's a very talented guy, in the ring & out.
Get well soon, Alex.
Until next time....
SSS
I thought something was amiss, just based on the way Shelley held his arm & the expression on his face. However, he did work the body of the match before "hot tagging" his partner,Chris Sabin to finish the match- which will be the central theme of todays blog: how to "make it up on the fly" in a professional wrestling match.
I can honestly say that the only wrestling match I ever had planned out, begining to end, was my first one, & the following night, where I was matched up with the same guys ( and in retrospect, due to the different roles we played each night, that shouldn't have happened-more on that another time)
Whenever I can, I try to watch the matches before mine- this, I found, makes it easy to find different things to do that the crowd hadn't yet seen on the card. All too often, you have guys working the card who will do the EXACT same things....for example, climb the buckles for crowd approval. How many times a night does anyone really want to see that? No matter, they see it 5 times a night regardless.
I have general rules: If I'm working with someone I've never met or watched, I do have a basic outline of of a match that I use- I call it the "Ol' Stock & Trade" match- its designed to get good crowd response while not putting anyone in serious jeapordy of injury, namely me. And its a match that I can work either way- its so simple, so basic, & its two things most guys don't think about doing. I'm different, not dangerous! :)
Otherwise, its just feel & go, walk & talk, & lets go home-and live to fight yet another day. Don't get hurt- most of us don't do this full time, & we all have to go to work Monday morning!
I want to be different- if everyone else is screaming, I'm gonna talk; if everyone else is brawling, I want to work a mat based style. That way, you always stand out....and most of the time, standing out is good, not only because it creates excitement with the fans because you changed things up, but it usually favors you at intermission- which is where the bread is really buttered on the independent wrestling scene.
Working this way can also help you cover up mistakes & missteps- I couldn't tell you the number of times I have sat in a cramped room, putting my boots on, while two, four, or six young enthusiastic guys run thru the upcoming match, detail by excrutiating detail ( all the way down to pretending to whip each other into the ropes, slams, etc etc ) putting on the best match no one will ever see- because, lets face it, it NEVER turns out how you plan it. So why bother?
I try to make a point of watching these particular matches, because I'm always curious as to how they will save it when something goes wrong. Now, mind you, I'm not hoping for this to happen; that would make me a pessimistic a**hole, and rooting for guys to screw up is just plain prickish.
Heres my point: no one ever plans "down time" in wrestling match, so if you just screwed up doing 2-3 big moves, the mind will naturally race to get back to where you were, ignoring these facts: no one in the crowd knew where you were in the match (the fans, remember? the people you're supposed to be there to entertain?) & b) anxiety doesn't lend itself to performance. Grab a hold. Catch your breath. You have to bring them (fans) down to bring them back up.
I'm not saying that Alex Shelley would have avoided his injury, because these things happen; I just believe that he probably worsened it by staying in the ring because its "the way things were planned"...and Ibelieve the only reason he didn't tag out & not return until the finish was do to the structure of the match. I do,however, admire Shelley's resolve in "finishing what he started"- he's a very talented guy, in the ring & out.
Get well soon, Alex.
Until next time....
SSS
Monday, January 17, 2011
TNA & More
They say that theres nothing like being there live, and TNA proved that to be true to a sellout 1,300 fans yesterday evening at the Historic Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown,MD.
I know my children, ranging in age from 18 to 4 yrs old, had a great time- my youngest son, Donavan, in between waving around the toy belt I got him, kept telling me that it was "his turn"- as in, his turn to get into the ring & wrestle. My 6 year old, Dalton, also waved his belt around, screaming his lungs out, especially during the match featuring his favorite tag team, The Motor City Machine Guns, who were managed this night by one Eli Martin, a really cool guy who I know from different area events, and a "follower" of this blog.
As for the matches, they were all entertaining, featuring many of the promotions better performers, most notably Kurt Angle ( as a special referee), Samoa Joe, & Jeff Jarrett.
Jarrett, as previously noted, is a owner of the group, but that didn't stop him from playing his villanous role to perfection in the main event, as he challenged Mr Anderson for the TNA title with Angle, the ex husband of Jarrett's current wife, as referee.
I particularly enjoyed this match, as I watched as Jarrett got the entire building to hate him, even preposturously reacting to one fans sign which read "JARRETT IS A PARROT". JJ even had ring announcer Jeremy Borash, on the house mic, inform the Hub crowd that he, in fact, WASN'T a parrot. Classic.
I've done hundreds of small town wrestling matches over the years, and, no matter how hard the guys work, it just doesn't quite have the same feel as when the "big leagues" roll into town. There was alot to learn from watching last nights card for the local independent boys- and there were alot of them there ( thanks to those who went out of their way to say hello to me) but the biggest lesson was, while the TNA crew worked hard & put in a great effort, they all worked VERY safely with each other. In other words, hurting yourself or your opponent isn't necessary to having a good, exciting match.
TNA is a great live event promotion, and having been to 3 of their events since Labor Day, I can assure you that I will attend again when they are within a reasonable driving distance.
*******************************************************
For those of you in the area that didn't get their fill of wrestling last night, IPE Wrestling will be in Ranson,Wv this saturday night...my understanding is tickets are $10 for adults & $5 for kids, which is more than fair.
Not all independent promotions are worth your time or money- in alot of cases, the people you ride to matches with on a given saturday night could put on a better match than many of their alleged "wrestlers"- but I assure you, IPE does not fall into that catagory. Everyone works hard, and most are very accessible to the fans ( personal note: "good guy" or "bad guy",I'm always accessible to talk & chat with fans who stop by my table during intermission; if you have the decency to be nice to me, why wouldn't I return the favor?)
Unfortunately, not all fans are friendly; some are so passionate that they can't be, which I understand to a degree; but for those of you who not only allow, but encourage, young children to call vulgar names & gestures towards anyone, much less adults, I implore you to spend your money on parenting lessons, not wrestling tickets.
I'm no angel & I'm certainly not Super Parent, but I do not allow my kids to swear, at the matches or not at the matches- yelling & screaming is enough. Attending the matches can be a great way to get out your aggressions, but try to keep it in check a bit- its a poor refelction of you as a parent to allow your kids to behave this way. I'm off my soapbox now....
We close with a fan related story from many years ago, which happened during the fall of 1995 in Clear Spring,Md. A few of you may care enough about previous blogs to recall my recollection of working with one Brutus Beefcake, so without further terms of endearment towards The Man With No Talent, I give you this antecdote:
During the final moments of the match,the late Neil Superior was chasing me around the ring, as Beefcake went to cut Switchblade's rat tail off with scissors ( The Barber, was one of his 1,000 gimmicks) I was to retreat to the locker room, but as I was running, I noticed my exit was blocked off by fans who had come down from the bleachers and surrounded ringside. I had to call an audible, so to speak, so I decided that I would use the other exit, which would mean I would have to cut left & run thru between the ringside seats & bleachers, to reach my destination. So, as I did this, halfway thru, I get nailed in the side of the head with a wicked punch which landed directly on my right ear. I staggered ( as most would) & looked up, ripping off the championship belt I had won earlier that night. Tommy Ecton, one of "us", came charging out & literally stopped me from nailing the guy with the strap- NO!!!! SHANE NO!!! he bellowed. When I looked up, however, I noticed the guy was getting his ass handed to him by two of our own, Don "Gutterboy" Wilt & his brother, the incomparably crazy Scott.
Little did this fan know that, sitting right behind him where two guys who wrestled earlier that night- The Wilts had wrestled as a masked tag team that night, so no one would have known they wrestled the opener, then sat in the bleachers with their family afterward!
Of course, the off duty police officer who was, believe it or not, a high school classmate of mine, came back to the locker room, while I cussed about the fan hitting me. His response was "I thought it was all part of the show"....typical. He did, however, asked me if I knew the two guys who kicked MR Fan's ass, to which I replied, yeah..."The Masked Executioners....I never saw their faces until now!!!"
Moral of the story: Don't ever hit a wrestler-you never know whos sitting behind you.
( No one was seriously hurt in this incident, by the way.....I heard the guy who hit me recently started eating solid foods again....:)
ps- thanks again, guys for watching my back....back then, this "thing of ours" meant something!
Until next time....
SSS
I know my children, ranging in age from 18 to 4 yrs old, had a great time- my youngest son, Donavan, in between waving around the toy belt I got him, kept telling me that it was "his turn"- as in, his turn to get into the ring & wrestle. My 6 year old, Dalton, also waved his belt around, screaming his lungs out, especially during the match featuring his favorite tag team, The Motor City Machine Guns, who were managed this night by one Eli Martin, a really cool guy who I know from different area events, and a "follower" of this blog.
As for the matches, they were all entertaining, featuring many of the promotions better performers, most notably Kurt Angle ( as a special referee), Samoa Joe, & Jeff Jarrett.
Jarrett, as previously noted, is a owner of the group, but that didn't stop him from playing his villanous role to perfection in the main event, as he challenged Mr Anderson for the TNA title with Angle, the ex husband of Jarrett's current wife, as referee.
I particularly enjoyed this match, as I watched as Jarrett got the entire building to hate him, even preposturously reacting to one fans sign which read "JARRETT IS A PARROT". JJ even had ring announcer Jeremy Borash, on the house mic, inform the Hub crowd that he, in fact, WASN'T a parrot. Classic.
I've done hundreds of small town wrestling matches over the years, and, no matter how hard the guys work, it just doesn't quite have the same feel as when the "big leagues" roll into town. There was alot to learn from watching last nights card for the local independent boys- and there were alot of them there ( thanks to those who went out of their way to say hello to me) but the biggest lesson was, while the TNA crew worked hard & put in a great effort, they all worked VERY safely with each other. In other words, hurting yourself or your opponent isn't necessary to having a good, exciting match.
TNA is a great live event promotion, and having been to 3 of their events since Labor Day, I can assure you that I will attend again when they are within a reasonable driving distance.
*******************************************************
For those of you in the area that didn't get their fill of wrestling last night, IPE Wrestling will be in Ranson,Wv this saturday night...my understanding is tickets are $10 for adults & $5 for kids, which is more than fair.
Not all independent promotions are worth your time or money- in alot of cases, the people you ride to matches with on a given saturday night could put on a better match than many of their alleged "wrestlers"- but I assure you, IPE does not fall into that catagory. Everyone works hard, and most are very accessible to the fans ( personal note: "good guy" or "bad guy",I'm always accessible to talk & chat with fans who stop by my table during intermission; if you have the decency to be nice to me, why wouldn't I return the favor?)
Unfortunately, not all fans are friendly; some are so passionate that they can't be, which I understand to a degree; but for those of you who not only allow, but encourage, young children to call vulgar names & gestures towards anyone, much less adults, I implore you to spend your money on parenting lessons, not wrestling tickets.
I'm no angel & I'm certainly not Super Parent, but I do not allow my kids to swear, at the matches or not at the matches- yelling & screaming is enough. Attending the matches can be a great way to get out your aggressions, but try to keep it in check a bit- its a poor refelction of you as a parent to allow your kids to behave this way. I'm off my soapbox now....
We close with a fan related story from many years ago, which happened during the fall of 1995 in Clear Spring,Md. A few of you may care enough about previous blogs to recall my recollection of working with one Brutus Beefcake, so without further terms of endearment towards The Man With No Talent, I give you this antecdote:
During the final moments of the match,the late Neil Superior was chasing me around the ring, as Beefcake went to cut Switchblade's rat tail off with scissors ( The Barber, was one of his 1,000 gimmicks) I was to retreat to the locker room, but as I was running, I noticed my exit was blocked off by fans who had come down from the bleachers and surrounded ringside. I had to call an audible, so to speak, so I decided that I would use the other exit, which would mean I would have to cut left & run thru between the ringside seats & bleachers, to reach my destination. So, as I did this, halfway thru, I get nailed in the side of the head with a wicked punch which landed directly on my right ear. I staggered ( as most would) & looked up, ripping off the championship belt I had won earlier that night. Tommy Ecton, one of "us", came charging out & literally stopped me from nailing the guy with the strap- NO!!!! SHANE NO!!! he bellowed. When I looked up, however, I noticed the guy was getting his ass handed to him by two of our own, Don "Gutterboy" Wilt & his brother, the incomparably crazy Scott.
Little did this fan know that, sitting right behind him where two guys who wrestled earlier that night- The Wilts had wrestled as a masked tag team that night, so no one would have known they wrestled the opener, then sat in the bleachers with their family afterward!
Of course, the off duty police officer who was, believe it or not, a high school classmate of mine, came back to the locker room, while I cussed about the fan hitting me. His response was "I thought it was all part of the show"....typical. He did, however, asked me if I knew the two guys who kicked MR Fan's ass, to which I replied, yeah..."The Masked Executioners....I never saw their faces until now!!!"
Moral of the story: Don't ever hit a wrestler-you never know whos sitting behind you.
( No one was seriously hurt in this incident, by the way.....I heard the guy who hit me recently started eating solid foods again....:)
ps- thanks again, guys for watching my back....back then, this "thing of ours" meant something!
Until next time....
SSS
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Language Barriers
Question to one & all: has there ever been a song with "Thursday" in its title? My guess is probably not; it falls in the catagory of Tuesday as the days that have no meaning......let me pause while I ask myself what point I was trying to make here.....
Theres a nice feature in todays Herald Mail about TNA's upcoming event this sunday at the historic Maryland Theatre,featuring an interview with none other than Double J himself, Jeff Jarrett. Its a nice if not particularly revealing piece. One particular aspect that I struggle with, as a "old school" guy is the public revelations, not only in the piece but as a part of public knowledge, is Jarrett"s partial ownership of the organization.
I suppose that its time that guys like myself "get with the program" & just outright admit that in wrestling, all isn't what it seems, but some things are hard to let go. It was impressed upon me, from the day that I started my training, that wrestling was, in essence, a club that had a certain membership, and that membership shouldn't be compromised, no matter what, to "outsiders".
The belief was simple: if everyone knew "everything" about wrestling, that it would hurt the overall business- people who believe shouldn't be told not to; the people who didn't believe, we didn't necessarily want them, anyway. Think of it like this: If you went to see David Copperfield, and you knew how he did all his tricks, would you want or need to see him again? Mind you, there is a certain percentage of the population that will enjoy a particular form of entertainment, no matter its truths, but....believing in wrestling MAKES wrestling.
I look around and see how the business has changed over the years, and its hard to dispute what the promoters & wrestlers of the past ascerted: while WWE's overall business is strong, due to international licensing agreements & merchandise sales, could you even argue for a second that the whole business is better now than it was in 1985, just to use an example?
The one thing JJ said that rang very true, is the belief that there is room for a second national wrestling entity, and there are alot of fans disenfranchised, to which TNA, at least in terms of their touring shows, is trying to cater. ( If they only did that on their TV show as well....didn't I just do that blog?)
I look forward to seeing many from the local wrestling community at this event, and I hope we get a chance to chat, if even briefly....
***********************************************
Just mentioning 1985 made me think of how much wrestling terminology has changed over the years as well-for example, in previous times, a wrestler might mention that he was going to work for New York, which meant WWF, now WWE. Going to Atlanta meant WCW; heading to Dallas meant World Class; and so on. Largely, the promotion was identified by the largest city in which it operated, or maintained its booking office.
These days, such references are limited due to the lack of places to go, so they are almost always referred to by the promotion. Mostly, guys working the independents ( once known as "outlaw" or "bushes", as in bush leagues) who will be trying out for WWE are "going to the FED", as in the WWE's previous monniker,the World Wrestling Federation.
The term "boys", in reference to the wrestlers, has been replaced by "workers"; The word "show", in the past taboo because it implied it wasn't real, has replaced "card". I speak a slightly different language than most of the 18-30 year old "new" generation; I get confused looks when I tell them we can just "walk & talk", or just "work thru" or "go Broadway". Asking some if they "made their shot" over the weekend can lead to a puzzled look, "getting potato'ed" might as well be asking what they ate on the ride home at Wendy's, and "KayFabe" could possibly be someones mother,and most of the guys on the card wouldn't know the difference.
However, after 18 years, I still learn new terms as well, as back in October, for the first time ever, I was shown a "ferbie derbie".....so that just goes to show you no one knows it all ( not that I've ever believed that of myself in the first place)
Don't even get me started on the lost art of Carney.........maybe another time!
It was alot easier when we all spoke the same language- but then again, some of us were trained by actual wrestlers, and others, well, they.....weren't.
Until next time....
SSS
Theres a nice feature in todays Herald Mail about TNA's upcoming event this sunday at the historic Maryland Theatre,featuring an interview with none other than Double J himself, Jeff Jarrett. Its a nice if not particularly revealing piece. One particular aspect that I struggle with, as a "old school" guy is the public revelations, not only in the piece but as a part of public knowledge, is Jarrett"s partial ownership of the organization.
I suppose that its time that guys like myself "get with the program" & just outright admit that in wrestling, all isn't what it seems, but some things are hard to let go. It was impressed upon me, from the day that I started my training, that wrestling was, in essence, a club that had a certain membership, and that membership shouldn't be compromised, no matter what, to "outsiders".
The belief was simple: if everyone knew "everything" about wrestling, that it would hurt the overall business- people who believe shouldn't be told not to; the people who didn't believe, we didn't necessarily want them, anyway. Think of it like this: If you went to see David Copperfield, and you knew how he did all his tricks, would you want or need to see him again? Mind you, there is a certain percentage of the population that will enjoy a particular form of entertainment, no matter its truths, but....believing in wrestling MAKES wrestling.
I look around and see how the business has changed over the years, and its hard to dispute what the promoters & wrestlers of the past ascerted: while WWE's overall business is strong, due to international licensing agreements & merchandise sales, could you even argue for a second that the whole business is better now than it was in 1985, just to use an example?
The one thing JJ said that rang very true, is the belief that there is room for a second national wrestling entity, and there are alot of fans disenfranchised, to which TNA, at least in terms of their touring shows, is trying to cater. ( If they only did that on their TV show as well....didn't I just do that blog?)
I look forward to seeing many from the local wrestling community at this event, and I hope we get a chance to chat, if even briefly....
***********************************************
Just mentioning 1985 made me think of how much wrestling terminology has changed over the years as well-for example, in previous times, a wrestler might mention that he was going to work for New York, which meant WWF, now WWE. Going to Atlanta meant WCW; heading to Dallas meant World Class; and so on. Largely, the promotion was identified by the largest city in which it operated, or maintained its booking office.
These days, such references are limited due to the lack of places to go, so they are almost always referred to by the promotion. Mostly, guys working the independents ( once known as "outlaw" or "bushes", as in bush leagues) who will be trying out for WWE are "going to the FED", as in the WWE's previous monniker,the World Wrestling Federation.
The term "boys", in reference to the wrestlers, has been replaced by "workers"; The word "show", in the past taboo because it implied it wasn't real, has replaced "card". I speak a slightly different language than most of the 18-30 year old "new" generation; I get confused looks when I tell them we can just "walk & talk", or just "work thru" or "go Broadway". Asking some if they "made their shot" over the weekend can lead to a puzzled look, "getting potato'ed" might as well be asking what they ate on the ride home at Wendy's, and "KayFabe" could possibly be someones mother,and most of the guys on the card wouldn't know the difference.
However, after 18 years, I still learn new terms as well, as back in October, for the first time ever, I was shown a "ferbie derbie".....so that just goes to show you no one knows it all ( not that I've ever believed that of myself in the first place)
Don't even get me started on the lost art of Carney.........maybe another time!
It was alot easier when we all spoke the same language- but then again, some of us were trained by actual wrestlers, and others, well, they.....weren't.
Until next time....
SSS
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
When Panic Strikes
I have lived in Western Maryland my entire life- and, like any other section of the country, we are prone to quirkiness in many respects; but the one thing that NEVER ceases to amaze me is the ability of folks in this area to seriously overreact to any type of inclimate weather, particularly the snow.
Its funny- given our proximity to mountains, snow was once a frequent trouble spot in this area- about 40 plus years ago, before local governments ability to purchase items that enabled easier access on the road, namely the 50 snow plow trucks employed during any dusting that may happen.
Without fail, the following things will take place when the local meteorologist calls for anything from flurries to an avalanche:
1) people flock to the stores, empty a weeks worth of milk,eggs, & bread
2) schools will delay, or outright cancel, the following day before the first flake hits pavement
3) all local functions, from bingo to AA meetings, will be canceled
4) liquor stores sells increase by 28% across the board
In a bizzare way, for the locals, its a combination of a spectacular, once in a lifetime event & the Super Bowl- something along the lines of Haley's Comet, but with the usual disappointment of a 43-0 game that makes you long for the half time show- but by then, you're so gourged on the bread & milk you over purchased that you fall asleep before you got to see Janet Jackson's cans.
The guys most excited, however, are the guys driving the plow trucks- as I learned during my years as the graveyard manager at Denny's- no matter how light the forecast, you could count on as many as 15 state employees to sit & cash in the "free meal for snow plow guys" policy, eating huge amounts of gratis food & loading up on coffee, all while the trucks burnt fuel outside in the parking lot.
During an actual storm one year, I asked one of the plow guys if they would mind quickly clearing out our lot- to which he replied " I wish I could, but I can run this plow only on state roads"- of course, ignoring the fact that it had been running for the previous 2 hours, and that I just gave him 3 Moons Over My Hammy, free of charge. Dick.
I don't blame them, however- our government is notorious for overpaying for virtually zero results; in fact, it seems as though the LESS you do in a state job, the quicker your ascent to the top of the chain- the state supports the "less is more" theory, except of course in regard to paying taxes. I'm willing to wager that, for every truck on the road during a "storm", the senior member of the tandem is in back asleep, pulling in $57 an hour. Our tax dollars at work, folks....
The local mentality regarding weather has been empowered by the local & media- the round the clock coverage of all things potentially disasterous, after all, leads to increased ratings. I personally enjoy the recent trend by news stations such as The Weather Channel to name these acts of nature, like last years "Winter Wallop" & todays "First Strike! 2011" as though they are they equivilent to major events, ala WrestleMania.
And don't even get me started on The Weather Channel, allegedly the " foremost authority on weather" or some type of hyperbole- I sat in front of the tv for 40 minutes to get a progress report on the incoming precipitation, only to watch Mike Seidel or Jim Cantore on location in Enid,Oklahoma with the lastest edition of "When Storms Hit", a gripping documentary on when weather hits & startles a small town- forgetting of course that, if they actually would have bothered to TELL the residents about the storm BEFORE it hit, maybe the wouldn't have been taken so aback.
Further watching made me understand the "Local on the 8's"- which means, only at 08,18,28,38,48,& 58 of any given hour will these talking head assfaces actually talk about the weather. Good gig-only 6 times an hour are they required to actually pretend to know wtf is happening in any given area.
Thats enough for now- I now need to run to Radio Shack,purchase a camcorder, & put my self on youtube covering the massive snowfall that threatens the entire earth...stay posted!
Until next time....
SSS
Its funny- given our proximity to mountains, snow was once a frequent trouble spot in this area- about 40 plus years ago, before local governments ability to purchase items that enabled easier access on the road, namely the 50 snow plow trucks employed during any dusting that may happen.
Without fail, the following things will take place when the local meteorologist calls for anything from flurries to an avalanche:
1) people flock to the stores, empty a weeks worth of milk,eggs, & bread
2) schools will delay, or outright cancel, the following day before the first flake hits pavement
3) all local functions, from bingo to AA meetings, will be canceled
4) liquor stores sells increase by 28% across the board
In a bizzare way, for the locals, its a combination of a spectacular, once in a lifetime event & the Super Bowl- something along the lines of Haley's Comet, but with the usual disappointment of a 43-0 game that makes you long for the half time show- but by then, you're so gourged on the bread & milk you over purchased that you fall asleep before you got to see Janet Jackson's cans.
The guys most excited, however, are the guys driving the plow trucks- as I learned during my years as the graveyard manager at Denny's- no matter how light the forecast, you could count on as many as 15 state employees to sit & cash in the "free meal for snow plow guys" policy, eating huge amounts of gratis food & loading up on coffee, all while the trucks burnt fuel outside in the parking lot.
During an actual storm one year, I asked one of the plow guys if they would mind quickly clearing out our lot- to which he replied " I wish I could, but I can run this plow only on state roads"- of course, ignoring the fact that it had been running for the previous 2 hours, and that I just gave him 3 Moons Over My Hammy, free of charge. Dick.
I don't blame them, however- our government is notorious for overpaying for virtually zero results; in fact, it seems as though the LESS you do in a state job, the quicker your ascent to the top of the chain- the state supports the "less is more" theory, except of course in regard to paying taxes. I'm willing to wager that, for every truck on the road during a "storm", the senior member of the tandem is in back asleep, pulling in $57 an hour. Our tax dollars at work, folks....
The local mentality regarding weather has been empowered by the local & media- the round the clock coverage of all things potentially disasterous, after all, leads to increased ratings. I personally enjoy the recent trend by news stations such as The Weather Channel to name these acts of nature, like last years "Winter Wallop" & todays "First Strike! 2011" as though they are they equivilent to major events, ala WrestleMania.
And don't even get me started on The Weather Channel, allegedly the " foremost authority on weather" or some type of hyperbole- I sat in front of the tv for 40 minutes to get a progress report on the incoming precipitation, only to watch Mike Seidel or Jim Cantore on location in Enid,Oklahoma with the lastest edition of "When Storms Hit", a gripping documentary on when weather hits & startles a small town- forgetting of course that, if they actually would have bothered to TELL the residents about the storm BEFORE it hit, maybe the wouldn't have been taken so aback.
Further watching made me understand the "Local on the 8's"- which means, only at 08,18,28,38,48,& 58 of any given hour will these talking head assfaces actually talk about the weather. Good gig-only 6 times an hour are they required to actually pretend to know wtf is happening in any given area.
Thats enough for now- I now need to run to Radio Shack,purchase a camcorder, & put my self on youtube covering the massive snowfall that threatens the entire earth...stay posted!
Until next time....
SSS
Monday, January 10, 2011
A Thought or Two On A Tragedy
I would like to start my first post of the new week to share a few thoughts on the horrific shooting that happened over the weekend in Arizona, killing 6 innocent people & injuring numerous others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
I'm not a political expert by any stretch- I am however, a registered voter, and I do vote in all important elections ( I usually skip the local mayoral races and so forth)
For what its worth, I feel an event like what happened in Tucson only shows further proof that there needs to be stronger regulation in regard to owning or possesion on firearms.
The biggest issue in regard to "gun control" is that there is a segment of this country that believes "regulation" means "disarment", and to that I say, "what part do you not understand?"
I'm not a gun owner- and I wouldn't be a gun owner; however, my father is, and my grandfather was....and that right was something that both believe(d) in vehemently. However, there is something inherently dangerous about those who have the mindset that, if theres any type of dispute, they take off for their weapons to "solve" the issue....Not everyone is mentally stable enough to handle such a responsibility....as was once again made obvious this past week in Tucson.
Taking things a step beyond just the standard "felon background check", for example: a standardized mental evaluation of anyone purchasing a firearm, required to be updated on a (annual ?) basis- if you have to renew a license once a year to carry a gun, why not a test? If gun ownership is so coveted, whats a basic evaluation going to hurt you? Wouldn't even owners feel better about psychopaths being "prevented" from toting a weapon?
Or, what about anyone who sells an illegal firearm to anyone who commits a crime with it, gets penalized with a stiff prison sentence for their involvement in a heinous crime? "All" that requires is a better "tracking system" of firearms.
Just my opinion...I hope none of you object to my thoughts to the point of making threats or attacks.....
**************************************************
On a lighter note, unless something happens at tonights Tv tapings, or an unforeseen circumstance, the TNA World Heavyweight Title will be defended this sunday in my hometown, Hagerstown,Md, on the heels of Mr anderson winning the belt last night at TNA"s Genesis pay per view. This occasion would mark the first time that any version of the World Heavyweight wrestling title was defended in Hagerstown since 1971, when Pedro Morales, days after winning the WWWF title, defended at the Hagerstown Armory vs. The Black Demon.
Now, of course, the significance of this occasion is relative; one time of day, before titles were changed more frequently than wrestlers' trunks, this may have lead to a major increase in the house or a newspaper worthy story. However, in the rapid fire change era that is "sports entertainment" today, this is a blip on the local radar, if even that.
Hopefully, sometime today, the scheduled bouts for this sunday at the historic Maryland Theatre will be released, and in that event, I will likely post them here.
Until later.....
SSS
I'm not a political expert by any stretch- I am however, a registered voter, and I do vote in all important elections ( I usually skip the local mayoral races and so forth)
For what its worth, I feel an event like what happened in Tucson only shows further proof that there needs to be stronger regulation in regard to owning or possesion on firearms.
The biggest issue in regard to "gun control" is that there is a segment of this country that believes "regulation" means "disarment", and to that I say, "what part do you not understand?"
I'm not a gun owner- and I wouldn't be a gun owner; however, my father is, and my grandfather was....and that right was something that both believe(d) in vehemently. However, there is something inherently dangerous about those who have the mindset that, if theres any type of dispute, they take off for their weapons to "solve" the issue....Not everyone is mentally stable enough to handle such a responsibility....as was once again made obvious this past week in Tucson.
Taking things a step beyond just the standard "felon background check", for example: a standardized mental evaluation of anyone purchasing a firearm, required to be updated on a (annual ?) basis- if you have to renew a license once a year to carry a gun, why not a test? If gun ownership is so coveted, whats a basic evaluation going to hurt you? Wouldn't even owners feel better about psychopaths being "prevented" from toting a weapon?
Or, what about anyone who sells an illegal firearm to anyone who commits a crime with it, gets penalized with a stiff prison sentence for their involvement in a heinous crime? "All" that requires is a better "tracking system" of firearms.
Just my opinion...I hope none of you object to my thoughts to the point of making threats or attacks.....
**************************************************
On a lighter note, unless something happens at tonights Tv tapings, or an unforeseen circumstance, the TNA World Heavyweight Title will be defended this sunday in my hometown, Hagerstown,Md, on the heels of Mr anderson winning the belt last night at TNA"s Genesis pay per view. This occasion would mark the first time that any version of the World Heavyweight wrestling title was defended in Hagerstown since 1971, when Pedro Morales, days after winning the WWWF title, defended at the Hagerstown Armory vs. The Black Demon.
Now, of course, the significance of this occasion is relative; one time of day, before titles were changed more frequently than wrestlers' trunks, this may have lead to a major increase in the house or a newspaper worthy story. However, in the rapid fire change era that is "sports entertainment" today, this is a blip on the local radar, if even that.
Hopefully, sometime today, the scheduled bouts for this sunday at the historic Maryland Theatre will be released, and in that event, I will likely post them here.
Until later.....
SSS
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mr Wonderful
Been a busy Thursday, but I figured I'd take a shot at clipping off a quick one, since I will likely be unable to thru the weekend.
I personally would like to send out a "get well soon" to WWE Hall of Famer "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, who yesterday announced he was suffering from cancer. Orndorff was probably the single most intense competitor of his era, and during his prime, was one of Hulk Hogan's top opponents.
Orndorff definitely shaved years off his career during his run with Hogan in 1986, on the heels of a several month long build up that ultimately lit business on fire when he turned on HH during a tv tag bout vs. King Kong Bundy& the late Big John Studd.
Orndorff suffered severe nerve damage to his right arm early in the series of matches, but battled on regardless, during an era where there was really no "time off" for the guys, at least if they wanted to earn serious money.
And earn serious money he did- a outdoor live event at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto ( the predessor to the Skydome) vs. the Hulkster, several weeks after the tv tag match, brought out 68,000 fans, for a card that had no PPV,national build up or advertising.
After that 6 month long run with Hogan, which concluded with a national televised Steel Cage match in January 1987, Orndorff took a short time off, then returned briefly, having returned to the babyface side, before a long sabbatical, that lasted until 1990, when he returned for several months in WCW.
Orndorff was in & out of wrestling, mainly on the independents, until a surprising WCW return in 1992, after a few months in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where his work was still top notch, in particular an outstanding Falls Count Anywhere match vs. Cactus Jack at Superbrawl 3 in 1993.
Mr Wonderful also was a backstage agent for WCW in the following years, where a somewhat famous fistfight broke out between he & Vader, who outweighed PO by about 175 lbs. Regardless, the story goes that Orndorff, wearing flipflops, dropped Vader & put the boots to him until he was stopped.
He also returned briefly to the ring in the final, forgettable years of WCW, but finally hung his boots up for good after suffering a stinger to his neck in a match with, I believe, Mark Jindriak.
Best of luck to Mr Orndorff in beating a cruel & horrible disease.
******************************************************
Simply put, the baseball writer who voted for BJ Surhoff & Tino Martinez, and NEITHER of this years MLB Hall of Fame entrees, Bert Blyleven & Roberto Alomar, should not only be stripped of his voting rights, but should be barred from writing write about his neighborhoods Little League games. You're a jackoff & a disgrace to your profession. Enough Said.
*******************************************************
For those of you interested, I will be returning to the ring for the first time since an unwelcomed 2 month break on sat, Jan 22 in Ranson,Wv, then on sat, Jan 29 in Keyser Wv......I hope to see you there!
So until next time.....
SSS
I personally would like to send out a "get well soon" to WWE Hall of Famer "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, who yesterday announced he was suffering from cancer. Orndorff was probably the single most intense competitor of his era, and during his prime, was one of Hulk Hogan's top opponents.
Orndorff definitely shaved years off his career during his run with Hogan in 1986, on the heels of a several month long build up that ultimately lit business on fire when he turned on HH during a tv tag bout vs. King Kong Bundy& the late Big John Studd.
Orndorff suffered severe nerve damage to his right arm early in the series of matches, but battled on regardless, during an era where there was really no "time off" for the guys, at least if they wanted to earn serious money.
And earn serious money he did- a outdoor live event at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto ( the predessor to the Skydome) vs. the Hulkster, several weeks after the tv tag match, brought out 68,000 fans, for a card that had no PPV,national build up or advertising.
After that 6 month long run with Hogan, which concluded with a national televised Steel Cage match in January 1987, Orndorff took a short time off, then returned briefly, having returned to the babyface side, before a long sabbatical, that lasted until 1990, when he returned for several months in WCW.
Orndorff was in & out of wrestling, mainly on the independents, until a surprising WCW return in 1992, after a few months in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where his work was still top notch, in particular an outstanding Falls Count Anywhere match vs. Cactus Jack at Superbrawl 3 in 1993.
Mr Wonderful also was a backstage agent for WCW in the following years, where a somewhat famous fistfight broke out between he & Vader, who outweighed PO by about 175 lbs. Regardless, the story goes that Orndorff, wearing flipflops, dropped Vader & put the boots to him until he was stopped.
He also returned briefly to the ring in the final, forgettable years of WCW, but finally hung his boots up for good after suffering a stinger to his neck in a match with, I believe, Mark Jindriak.
Best of luck to Mr Orndorff in beating a cruel & horrible disease.
******************************************************
Simply put, the baseball writer who voted for BJ Surhoff & Tino Martinez, and NEITHER of this years MLB Hall of Fame entrees, Bert Blyleven & Roberto Alomar, should not only be stripped of his voting rights, but should be barred from writing write about his neighborhoods Little League games. You're a jackoff & a disgrace to your profession. Enough Said.
*******************************************************
For those of you interested, I will be returning to the ring for the first time since an unwelcomed 2 month break on sat, Jan 22 in Ranson,Wv, then on sat, Jan 29 in Keyser Wv......I hope to see you there!
So until next time.....
SSS
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Welcome to Wednesday.....what else can be said?
To start off todays blog, we pay tribute to the WAY overdue induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame to Bert Blyleven, one of the top pitchers of the 1970s-1980s. Blyleven's career numbers were all too often brushed over by the Writers Association, for reasons that I have never been totally clear. A very deserving candidate got his button today, so congrats to Mr. Blyleven for joining baseball's immortals.
Also getting the call to Cooperstown today was Roberto Alomar, the preeminent second basemen of his time- without a doubt, a worthy entry, but in my opinion, definitely not the "no- brainer" the press has made him out to be- but if Ryne Sandberg is in.... ( just a small dig at my nephew here, the family Cubs lover)
Notable omission this year from enshrinement: Jeff Bagwell. While not a slam dunk, Bagwell had the career numbers for enshrinement. The next few years will prove to be interesting in regards to Hall membership, as the players from the "Steroid Era" come due & questions regarding their involvement with performance enhancing drugs loom overhead.
The fact of the matter remains that, whether proven guilty or not of steriod use, many players will be painted with the broad brush, & that is, simply put, an unfair reality of playing during baseball's darkest era.
****************************************************************************
TNA has a PPV this coming sunday and, as much of a fan of their live shows as I am, I can honestly say I find most of what I see on their TV ( the little I watch) unbearable. Therefore, I am no expert when it comes to predicting their direction, partly due to my impatience watching their tv show, and partly because I don't believe they even know their direction.
I have always been a huge proponent for TNA's success- the wrestling world is always more interesting when there is competition, the possiblity of the top players switching to the other side, etc.
In the 1980s, even after WWF(WWE) started operating nationally, there were other notable wrestling offices providing competition , most notably Jim Crockett Promotions (NWA) & the AWA. Both provided a different approach than that of WWF, which gave the wrestling fan their choice of products- if you didn't like the more cartoonish aspects of WWF, you could watch the grittier NWA, or the more traditional wrestling based AWA.
I still believe that ratings, PPV buyrates, etc would be stronger the whole way around if a viable alternate product was provided, different from the flash & glam, cookie cutter WWE. Yet, TNA, with a good tv network to work off of, still seems insistant on being a copy of WWE, using the same convoluted ideas with in many cases less talented players.
That is not to say TNA has no talent- on the contrary, that have quite a bit, but by not allowing that talent to do what it does best, & instead trying to a) imitate WWE & B) pretending its still 1997, they are shortcutting their hopes of reaching the next level.
Reality time: TNA cannot compete with WWE, but they are capable of creating their own niche, & have yet to capitalize on it. Think about this: weekly TNA ratings on SpikeTV average 1.0, which is approximately 1 million weekly watchers. You think that, in this entire country, their are only 1 million wrestling fans that do NOT care for WWE's presentation of the sport? Of course not.
Without trying to get to in depth with numbers, the facts are that there are alot of disenfranchised fans of professional wrestling in this country, & possibly even a greater number of potential fans for whom, after a quick taste of the current tv products, tuned out & turned away.
The big question is - how due you turn a non fan into a fan? Or a former fan into a current fan? This is a less than clear cut answer, but here are a few suggestions:
1) the "Crash TV" concept of the past doesnt work anymore- "angles" used to mean business- and why? because there werent 20 of them on every show- the human mind only has so much retention, especially for "shocking" moments; and once it doesnt shock you, its just something else on a tv show, and thats the LAST thing you want to happen.
2) the mainstream celebrity thing is always risky- and its been badly overdone this past year, mainly by WWE. Celebs rarely treat such appearances as anything but a paying joke, and minimize the potential to create the buzz the promotion is so desperate to obtain.
3) quit trying to tailor your show the "hardcore" fan with all the alleged "insider" knowledge- whether you realize it or not, they are already there; you can't cater to a fraction of a potential audience- it will stunt your growth
There is an abundance of talent that can be used,cultivated,& grown- it would be nice if TNA used this opportunity to grow its long term business & become a real alternative for fans everywhere.
Thoughts? Opinions? Think I'm full of shit? Let me know!
Until next time...
SSS
To start off todays blog, we pay tribute to the WAY overdue induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame to Bert Blyleven, one of the top pitchers of the 1970s-1980s. Blyleven's career numbers were all too often brushed over by the Writers Association, for reasons that I have never been totally clear. A very deserving candidate got his button today, so congrats to Mr. Blyleven for joining baseball's immortals.
Also getting the call to Cooperstown today was Roberto Alomar, the preeminent second basemen of his time- without a doubt, a worthy entry, but in my opinion, definitely not the "no- brainer" the press has made him out to be- but if Ryne Sandberg is in.... ( just a small dig at my nephew here, the family Cubs lover)
Notable omission this year from enshrinement: Jeff Bagwell. While not a slam dunk, Bagwell had the career numbers for enshrinement. The next few years will prove to be interesting in regards to Hall membership, as the players from the "Steroid Era" come due & questions regarding their involvement with performance enhancing drugs loom overhead.
The fact of the matter remains that, whether proven guilty or not of steriod use, many players will be painted with the broad brush, & that is, simply put, an unfair reality of playing during baseball's darkest era.
****************************************************************************
TNA has a PPV this coming sunday and, as much of a fan of their live shows as I am, I can honestly say I find most of what I see on their TV ( the little I watch) unbearable. Therefore, I am no expert when it comes to predicting their direction, partly due to my impatience watching their tv show, and partly because I don't believe they even know their direction.
I have always been a huge proponent for TNA's success- the wrestling world is always more interesting when there is competition, the possiblity of the top players switching to the other side, etc.
In the 1980s, even after WWF(WWE) started operating nationally, there were other notable wrestling offices providing competition , most notably Jim Crockett Promotions (NWA) & the AWA. Both provided a different approach than that of WWF, which gave the wrestling fan their choice of products- if you didn't like the more cartoonish aspects of WWF, you could watch the grittier NWA, or the more traditional wrestling based AWA.
I still believe that ratings, PPV buyrates, etc would be stronger the whole way around if a viable alternate product was provided, different from the flash & glam, cookie cutter WWE. Yet, TNA, with a good tv network to work off of, still seems insistant on being a copy of WWE, using the same convoluted ideas with in many cases less talented players.
That is not to say TNA has no talent- on the contrary, that have quite a bit, but by not allowing that talent to do what it does best, & instead trying to a) imitate WWE & B) pretending its still 1997, they are shortcutting their hopes of reaching the next level.
Reality time: TNA cannot compete with WWE, but they are capable of creating their own niche, & have yet to capitalize on it. Think about this: weekly TNA ratings on SpikeTV average 1.0, which is approximately 1 million weekly watchers. You think that, in this entire country, their are only 1 million wrestling fans that do NOT care for WWE's presentation of the sport? Of course not.
Without trying to get to in depth with numbers, the facts are that there are alot of disenfranchised fans of professional wrestling in this country, & possibly even a greater number of potential fans for whom, after a quick taste of the current tv products, tuned out & turned away.
The big question is - how due you turn a non fan into a fan? Or a former fan into a current fan? This is a less than clear cut answer, but here are a few suggestions:
1) the "Crash TV" concept of the past doesnt work anymore- "angles" used to mean business- and why? because there werent 20 of them on every show- the human mind only has so much retention, especially for "shocking" moments; and once it doesnt shock you, its just something else on a tv show, and thats the LAST thing you want to happen.
2) the mainstream celebrity thing is always risky- and its been badly overdone this past year, mainly by WWE. Celebs rarely treat such appearances as anything but a paying joke, and minimize the potential to create the buzz the promotion is so desperate to obtain.
3) quit trying to tailor your show the "hardcore" fan with all the alleged "insider" knowledge- whether you realize it or not, they are already there; you can't cater to a fraction of a potential audience- it will stunt your growth
There is an abundance of talent that can be used,cultivated,& grown- it would be nice if TNA used this opportunity to grow its long term business & become a real alternative for fans everywhere.
Thoughts? Opinions? Think I'm full of shit? Let me know!
Until next time...
SSS
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Welcome to Tuesday morning....the week just started, but progress is being made ...
"Great 2nd,3rd,& 4th Effort" award goes to none other than Vladimir Koslov, who literally had to be seen to be believed during last nights RAW match, which featured he & Santino Marella vs. The Uso Twins.....if you haven't seen it, look it up on youtube.....
The WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, which ultimately, is the set up for Wrestlemania. Most years, the Rumble winner is pretty easy to predict, based on who the promotion is strongly behind in terms of tv direction & the stars that are most over to the audience. This year, however, is alot different-there is no clear cut favorite, due to a 2010 that focused largely on a group ( Nexxus) & no specific individuals truly "breaking out of the pack".
So, in the interest of starting an interesting conversation about the current scene ( which isn't that easy,honestly) I want to suggest a few potential winners. I encourage all of you who actually care enough to send your list of potential winners as well:
1) Triple H- absent since the summer, this is my strongest candidate; most likely a surprise entry to ensure a huge live crowd reaction, "The Game" is what they like in a Rumble winner: veteran main eventer, well known to the entire audience, & a geniune star. Nevermind that he needs this win like I need a bullet to the head....him winning actually hurts his ultimate grudge matches with Sheamus, unless the latter heads into Wm with the title...but they may not let that stop them here.
2) John Morrison- a tremendous athlete that is finally starting to get it all together ( still needs help with his promos) Morrison, a product of WWE's own training, is a risk taker that could be the prototypical "guy who starts early" in the match & defies all odds....a fresh choice. I may be more likely to favor him if he didn't just lose to his former partner,The Miz, last night on tv- that may have had some legs as a top match for WM.
3) Alberto Del Rio- the Mexican superstar has all the tools, as mentioned a few weeks back, & a match with him vs. SD champ Edge would be a somewhat fresh match for WM in Atlanta. Win or no, I think this match will happen at WM....
4) Jerry Lawler- obviously, the darkest of dark horse candidates. However, after the huge reaction his match several weeks back vs. Miz received, they have managed to continue to situate the two of them together...his absence from RAW this week got me thinking about this, and I find it to be the most compelling of all the potential matches for WM.
Those of you that are only familiar with Lawler as a announcer may think I'm completely insane, but those of you that are familiar with his 40 year career may see the promise in this match up. Now, The card would still need strong support but, and this is just my opinion, in 31 years of watching & studying wrestling, I believe that Lawler is the single best promo guy ever in a situation like this one.....which is a major part,obviously, of building up a money match. The King also possesses the most imaculate timing of any pro wrestler ever, in terms of when to sell, when to come back,etc.
Lawler has never even wrestled on a Wrestlemania card, and time is surely running out- as good as he looks & stills works when given the opportunity, Lawler is 61 years old. The old horse making a last run would make for compelling tv, if he was allowed to be "The King" & not over-exposed in the weeks lead up to the big bout....and as we know, compelling tv usually leads to stronger PPV revenue.... This one has my vote as a FAN( and has almost ZERO chance of happening)
Those are my 4......who else has thoughts? Chime in!
Until Next Time...
SSS
"Great 2nd,3rd,& 4th Effort" award goes to none other than Vladimir Koslov, who literally had to be seen to be believed during last nights RAW match, which featured he & Santino Marella vs. The Uso Twins.....if you haven't seen it, look it up on youtube.....
The WWE Royal Rumble is upon us, which ultimately, is the set up for Wrestlemania. Most years, the Rumble winner is pretty easy to predict, based on who the promotion is strongly behind in terms of tv direction & the stars that are most over to the audience. This year, however, is alot different-there is no clear cut favorite, due to a 2010 that focused largely on a group ( Nexxus) & no specific individuals truly "breaking out of the pack".
So, in the interest of starting an interesting conversation about the current scene ( which isn't that easy,honestly) I want to suggest a few potential winners. I encourage all of you who actually care enough to send your list of potential winners as well:
1) Triple H- absent since the summer, this is my strongest candidate; most likely a surprise entry to ensure a huge live crowd reaction, "The Game" is what they like in a Rumble winner: veteran main eventer, well known to the entire audience, & a geniune star. Nevermind that he needs this win like I need a bullet to the head....him winning actually hurts his ultimate grudge matches with Sheamus, unless the latter heads into Wm with the title...but they may not let that stop them here.
2) John Morrison- a tremendous athlete that is finally starting to get it all together ( still needs help with his promos) Morrison, a product of WWE's own training, is a risk taker that could be the prototypical "guy who starts early" in the match & defies all odds....a fresh choice. I may be more likely to favor him if he didn't just lose to his former partner,The Miz, last night on tv- that may have had some legs as a top match for WM.
3) Alberto Del Rio- the Mexican superstar has all the tools, as mentioned a few weeks back, & a match with him vs. SD champ Edge would be a somewhat fresh match for WM in Atlanta. Win or no, I think this match will happen at WM....
4) Jerry Lawler- obviously, the darkest of dark horse candidates. However, after the huge reaction his match several weeks back vs. Miz received, they have managed to continue to situate the two of them together...his absence from RAW this week got me thinking about this, and I find it to be the most compelling of all the potential matches for WM.
Those of you that are only familiar with Lawler as a announcer may think I'm completely insane, but those of you that are familiar with his 40 year career may see the promise in this match up. Now, The card would still need strong support but, and this is just my opinion, in 31 years of watching & studying wrestling, I believe that Lawler is the single best promo guy ever in a situation like this one.....which is a major part,obviously, of building up a money match. The King also possesses the most imaculate timing of any pro wrestler ever, in terms of when to sell, when to come back,etc.
Lawler has never even wrestled on a Wrestlemania card, and time is surely running out- as good as he looks & stills works when given the opportunity, Lawler is 61 years old. The old horse making a last run would make for compelling tv, if he was allowed to be "The King" & not over-exposed in the weeks lead up to the big bout....and as we know, compelling tv usually leads to stronger PPV revenue.... This one has my vote as a FAN( and has almost ZERO chance of happening)
Those are my 4......who else has thoughts? Chime in!
Until Next Time...
SSS
Monday, January 3, 2011
Flashback: December 1982
December 1982: While shopping at Books n Things, a popular area newsstand, at the Valley Mall in Hagerstown, I remember almost peeing myself in excitement that pro wrestling was coming to Hagerstown, with what I thought was a huge card at North Hagerstown High School...the first time the sport of kings hit my area since I became a fan just a little less than 3 years earlier.
The show poster, which I still have to this day, featured 3 big bouts: Jules Strongbow, the junior member of The Strongbow Brothers tag team, at the time reigning WWF Tag Team Champions, would face the capable Bob Bradley; Jules' brother, the legendary Chief Jay Strongbow, would be face the nefarious Mr. Saito of Japan; and in the Main Event, Superstar Billy Graham would take on "Polish Power" Ivan Putski.
My Mom, my Aunt, my brother Shawn & I went to the matches that night, and the scene somewhat startled me. Mind you, this wasn't my first live event- a family friend took my brother & I to the Capital Centre in Landover during the summer of 1981, a huge sellout card of which I also have vivid recollections. But this seemed different- I guess it didn't seem poosible that so many people from our local area were wrestling fans ( in elementary school, I talked wrestling with about 3 other kids, so thats were I gathered my frame of reference)
In addition to the aforementioned bouts, I believe there were at least 2 others, but only one that I recollect: Puerto Rico's Pedro Torres, of whom I had never seen nor heard, facing none other than Jeff Craney of New York, with whom I was quite familiar.
Jeff Craney didn't exactly exhude "pro wrestler"- he was kind of short & non descript, with a very frizzy perm & big cheesy moustache- he kind of looked like a cross between Weird Al Yankovic & The Pringles Guy. He also wore a two strap black singlet, which also didn't help enhance his appearance. Craney was a somewhat hapless preliminary wrestler, which is the nicest way possible for me to say he never won, or for that matter, ever even looked competitive. I recall a particular match where Craney wrestled Greg Valentine on tv, and his punches didnt appear to even faze Valentine, who quickly and brutally punished him for a quick 2 minute victory.
These types of beatings were commonplace for Craney- I had taken to actually feeling sorry for him every time he popped up on tv, which means I felt bad for him every saturday morning & afternoon for about a year. Week in, week out, Craney got beaten- badly, brutally, & usually quickly, by pretty much every "bad guy" star that came thru the Northeast from 1981-1983.
This bout started simply enough- the traditional collar & elbow locked up, a few clean breaks on the ropes, a fireamans carry or two, perhaps an armdrag or so....just seemed like another contest between "up and comers"- testing each other out to feel their way to an advantage point- "catch as catch wrestling", it was often called. Then, at about the 5 minute mark,Craney refused to break clean on the ropes & nailed Torres with a hard knee to the stomach....the crowd so its disapproval instantly.
On this night, my opinion of Jeff Craney changed- thru some sort of baptism by fire or other otherworldly event, the usually mundane & pathetic Jeff Craney became the biggest heel in the history of pro wrestling in Hagerstown, as, thru a combination of vicious tactics & screaming at the vocal hub city crowd, Craney became the evenings biggest star. He seemed to be enjoying this surprising turn of events, & with every dirty move he did, he shouted out his dominance of Torres, looking perhaps for approval, while those in attendence scolded him for his callousness towards his prone opponent.
I recollect Craney throwing Torres thru the ropes after a brief flurry of hope for the young Spanish star, then, against the referees instructions, followed him to the floor and gave him a bonecrushing bodyslam heard throughout the Hub gym. I was shocked at what I now felt: I thought Jeff Craney was the worlds biggest asshole! How did I ever pity this guy?? Too bad Valentine didn't break his leg with the figure four leglock, I was probably thinking.
Yet, in a moment that seemed to define that "good always beats evil", Torres nailed a small package on the gloating, over confident New Yorker to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat...as the Hagerstown crowd roared its approval. Craney did not leave with out protest, which fell on deaf ears to the referee, & didn't further endear him to the small town corwod of 1500 or so rabid wrestling fans.
I never felt bad for Jeff Craney ever again, and I did witness him get beat quite a few times after that cold winter night in Western Maryland....and as an aside, I met Pedro Torres during intermission, and he signed my program...the first wrestler autograph I ever got; and I never saw him again, on tv or otherwise.....
Any of you have a similiar story ? Chime in....love to hear about it
So until next time....
SSS
The show poster, which I still have to this day, featured 3 big bouts: Jules Strongbow, the junior member of The Strongbow Brothers tag team, at the time reigning WWF Tag Team Champions, would face the capable Bob Bradley; Jules' brother, the legendary Chief Jay Strongbow, would be face the nefarious Mr. Saito of Japan; and in the Main Event, Superstar Billy Graham would take on "Polish Power" Ivan Putski.
My Mom, my Aunt, my brother Shawn & I went to the matches that night, and the scene somewhat startled me. Mind you, this wasn't my first live event- a family friend took my brother & I to the Capital Centre in Landover during the summer of 1981, a huge sellout card of which I also have vivid recollections. But this seemed different- I guess it didn't seem poosible that so many people from our local area were wrestling fans ( in elementary school, I talked wrestling with about 3 other kids, so thats were I gathered my frame of reference)
In addition to the aforementioned bouts, I believe there were at least 2 others, but only one that I recollect: Puerto Rico's Pedro Torres, of whom I had never seen nor heard, facing none other than Jeff Craney of New York, with whom I was quite familiar.
Jeff Craney didn't exactly exhude "pro wrestler"- he was kind of short & non descript, with a very frizzy perm & big cheesy moustache- he kind of looked like a cross between Weird Al Yankovic & The Pringles Guy. He also wore a two strap black singlet, which also didn't help enhance his appearance. Craney was a somewhat hapless preliminary wrestler, which is the nicest way possible for me to say he never won, or for that matter, ever even looked competitive. I recall a particular match where Craney wrestled Greg Valentine on tv, and his punches didnt appear to even faze Valentine, who quickly and brutally punished him for a quick 2 minute victory.
These types of beatings were commonplace for Craney- I had taken to actually feeling sorry for him every time he popped up on tv, which means I felt bad for him every saturday morning & afternoon for about a year. Week in, week out, Craney got beaten- badly, brutally, & usually quickly, by pretty much every "bad guy" star that came thru the Northeast from 1981-1983.
This bout started simply enough- the traditional collar & elbow locked up, a few clean breaks on the ropes, a fireamans carry or two, perhaps an armdrag or so....just seemed like another contest between "up and comers"- testing each other out to feel their way to an advantage point- "catch as catch wrestling", it was often called. Then, at about the 5 minute mark,Craney refused to break clean on the ropes & nailed Torres with a hard knee to the stomach....the crowd so its disapproval instantly.
On this night, my opinion of Jeff Craney changed- thru some sort of baptism by fire or other otherworldly event, the usually mundane & pathetic Jeff Craney became the biggest heel in the history of pro wrestling in Hagerstown, as, thru a combination of vicious tactics & screaming at the vocal hub city crowd, Craney became the evenings biggest star. He seemed to be enjoying this surprising turn of events, & with every dirty move he did, he shouted out his dominance of Torres, looking perhaps for approval, while those in attendence scolded him for his callousness towards his prone opponent.
I recollect Craney throwing Torres thru the ropes after a brief flurry of hope for the young Spanish star, then, against the referees instructions, followed him to the floor and gave him a bonecrushing bodyslam heard throughout the Hub gym. I was shocked at what I now felt: I thought Jeff Craney was the worlds biggest asshole! How did I ever pity this guy?? Too bad Valentine didn't break his leg with the figure four leglock, I was probably thinking.
Yet, in a moment that seemed to define that "good always beats evil", Torres nailed a small package on the gloating, over confident New Yorker to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat...as the Hagerstown crowd roared its approval. Craney did not leave with out protest, which fell on deaf ears to the referee, & didn't further endear him to the small town corwod of 1500 or so rabid wrestling fans.
I never felt bad for Jeff Craney ever again, and I did witness him get beat quite a few times after that cold winter night in Western Maryland....and as an aside, I met Pedro Torres during intermission, and he signed my program...the first wrestler autograph I ever got; and I never saw him again, on tv or otherwise.....
Any of you have a similiar story ? Chime in....love to hear about it
So until next time....
SSS
The Formula of The Present vs. The Formula of the Past
Happy New Year to everyone! Hopefully, everyone was safe & had no run ins with law enforcement this season....
WWE finished up 2010 with a series of house shows in the Baltimore/DC area, events that were, based on reports, rather underattended, with a estimated 5,000 people in Baltimore this past Wednesday night.
Due to the injury to John Cena, that is apparently a "day to day" situation in regards to a return date, his place in the main event was taken by BIg Show, who upended Wade Barrett in the Steel Cage finale.
There are strengths & weaknesses to presenting wrestling as a Circus of the Stars or Ice Capades type presentation; the strength is you draw your crowds off of your brand name, without needing to focus too strongly on the personalities involved; the weakness is, without focusing on the talent or the current direction of tv, people are less inclined to believe that the local card is something they just can't afford to miss.
The nature of tv is alot different in 2011 than in 1981. For instance: 30 years ago,all the shows were distributed in syndication, in some cases to small stations ( easy definition: tv time bought from a local station, with advertising revenues during that time going directly to the station ; sometimes, a percentage of the local event revenue went to the station as well)
Localized interviews, plugging the upcoming card, and its matches, were a staple during this era; while the exact same show would be broadcast in all the markets, every town would not get the exact same live event. As such, getting "over" what 1) happened last card,when applicable & 2) what was gonna take place on the upcoming card, where of utmost importance.
References to local happenings & culture always enhanced these interviews; I remember Captain Lou Albano,Freddie Blassie, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Etc making reference to various area tv stars & so on during their promo time- it gave you the idea they knew all of the goings-on, and in my opinion, made you believe you just couldn't miss wrestling when it came back to town.
I particularly remember Piper doing an entire interview based around the recently departed Baltimore Colts, which was a real hot button issue in this area for years ( and remained that way until the Ravens moved to Baltimore, which gave it quite the shelf life)
A Clip from "last time" was a frequently used tactic, that likely helped the house; In the aforementioned interview, Piper knocked Baltimore,the Colts,Etc then went to a clip where The Rowdy One assaulted Junkyard Dog during a live Pipers Pit, which was the set up for their one on one battle at the Arena (then Baltimore Civic Center)
These days, with the product almost exclusively on cable, its considerably harder to plug local events, other than a quick commercial consideration- certainly, theres almost no value to plugging a match in Washington,DC to an audience watching nationwide, unless it s a PPV event.....
Another big miss for me is that, even when you see tv commercials or event posters, no actual matches are mentioned! Why? You can use the "things change" excuse, but thats always been the case- I was taught that the term "card subject to change" covers any unforseen events ( injury,travel issues,etc)
Fast forward to last week: I wasn't even aware WWE was running the area until about a week before! This would have been a no brainer Xmas gift for the kids; the last time WWE ran the week after Xmas back in '07, I bought the kids tickets ( just like I did this year for TNA in Hagerstown later this month) & went- its a great gift for a family that loves wrestling.....And a do recall a small push on local tv for 2 big matches that night....and not surprisingly, they building was packed- 11,000 strong to see Edge vs. Batista & a super heavyweight tag team tilt that featured Big Daddy V & The Great Khali vs. Kane & The Undertaker!
If John Cena is truly the biggest star in WWE, how could the live gate NOT be helped by advertising him locally in a STEEL CAGE match of all things, against Wade Barrett, whom his been his principal advesary since the summer?! Instead, the Circus formula was used....to mediorce results.
Now, I'm not implying that every event that happened in the past was a guaranteed sellout- but at least every measure was taken to insure that the building drew at much as possible, given the direction & the stars involved,local promotion,stronger interviews,etc.- which I don't feel they do today.
Obviously, based on the sparse attendence, I wasn't the only person who was unaware of the card....perhaps running on a Wednesday hampered them ( I'm not so sure).....perhaps its the overall direction...in any event, WWE certainly came up a bit short this past week in what was has been a traditionally strong wrestling market- & localized promos wouldn't have save them for sure, but I can't see how that, with overall better presentation of the product, it would not have helped.
As always, your questions & comments are always welcome! Please chime in!
Maybe more later....until then
SSS
WWE finished up 2010 with a series of house shows in the Baltimore/DC area, events that were, based on reports, rather underattended, with a estimated 5,000 people in Baltimore this past Wednesday night.
Due to the injury to John Cena, that is apparently a "day to day" situation in regards to a return date, his place in the main event was taken by BIg Show, who upended Wade Barrett in the Steel Cage finale.
There are strengths & weaknesses to presenting wrestling as a Circus of the Stars or Ice Capades type presentation; the strength is you draw your crowds off of your brand name, without needing to focus too strongly on the personalities involved; the weakness is, without focusing on the talent or the current direction of tv, people are less inclined to believe that the local card is something they just can't afford to miss.
The nature of tv is alot different in 2011 than in 1981. For instance: 30 years ago,all the shows were distributed in syndication, in some cases to small stations ( easy definition: tv time bought from a local station, with advertising revenues during that time going directly to the station ; sometimes, a percentage of the local event revenue went to the station as well)
Localized interviews, plugging the upcoming card, and its matches, were a staple during this era; while the exact same show would be broadcast in all the markets, every town would not get the exact same live event. As such, getting "over" what 1) happened last card,when applicable & 2) what was gonna take place on the upcoming card, where of utmost importance.
References to local happenings & culture always enhanced these interviews; I remember Captain Lou Albano,Freddie Blassie, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Etc making reference to various area tv stars & so on during their promo time- it gave you the idea they knew all of the goings-on, and in my opinion, made you believe you just couldn't miss wrestling when it came back to town.
I particularly remember Piper doing an entire interview based around the recently departed Baltimore Colts, which was a real hot button issue in this area for years ( and remained that way until the Ravens moved to Baltimore, which gave it quite the shelf life)
A Clip from "last time" was a frequently used tactic, that likely helped the house; In the aforementioned interview, Piper knocked Baltimore,the Colts,Etc then went to a clip where The Rowdy One assaulted Junkyard Dog during a live Pipers Pit, which was the set up for their one on one battle at the Arena (then Baltimore Civic Center)
These days, with the product almost exclusively on cable, its considerably harder to plug local events, other than a quick commercial consideration- certainly, theres almost no value to plugging a match in Washington,DC to an audience watching nationwide, unless it s a PPV event.....
Another big miss for me is that, even when you see tv commercials or event posters, no actual matches are mentioned! Why? You can use the "things change" excuse, but thats always been the case- I was taught that the term "card subject to change" covers any unforseen events ( injury,travel issues,etc)
Fast forward to last week: I wasn't even aware WWE was running the area until about a week before! This would have been a no brainer Xmas gift for the kids; the last time WWE ran the week after Xmas back in '07, I bought the kids tickets ( just like I did this year for TNA in Hagerstown later this month) & went- its a great gift for a family that loves wrestling.....And a do recall a small push on local tv for 2 big matches that night....and not surprisingly, they building was packed- 11,000 strong to see Edge vs. Batista & a super heavyweight tag team tilt that featured Big Daddy V & The Great Khali vs. Kane & The Undertaker!
If John Cena is truly the biggest star in WWE, how could the live gate NOT be helped by advertising him locally in a STEEL CAGE match of all things, against Wade Barrett, whom his been his principal advesary since the summer?! Instead, the Circus formula was used....to mediorce results.
Now, I'm not implying that every event that happened in the past was a guaranteed sellout- but at least every measure was taken to insure that the building drew at much as possible, given the direction & the stars involved,local promotion,stronger interviews,etc.- which I don't feel they do today.
Obviously, based on the sparse attendence, I wasn't the only person who was unaware of the card....perhaps running on a Wednesday hampered them ( I'm not so sure).....perhaps its the overall direction...in any event, WWE certainly came up a bit short this past week in what was has been a traditionally strong wrestling market- & localized promos wouldn't have save them for sure, but I can't see how that, with overall better presentation of the product, it would not have helped.
As always, your questions & comments are always welcome! Please chime in!
Maybe more later....until then
SSS
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