Stop the Crossing Over!

Those of you who know me well will know that I am a huge comic book fan. As a youngster I used to collect tons of Marvel and DC comics. I have a cupboard with loads of these in, some of them dating back to the 1970’s, although these days I prefer to buy graphic novels rather than individual comics.

One thing I used to enjoy, and I still do, are the crossovers between the two companies. Spider-Man meeting Superman was THE event back in the late 70’s, and even recently, when the Avengers met up with the Justice League of America, it was an event, something to look forward to. It was an event because something like that didn’t exactly happen too often.

So why am I writing about comic books in an article that is meant to be about professional wrestling? Patience, my dear friends. You’ll soon find out why.

Two Broken Bodies

January 2003. In his first major pay-per-view match-up in nearly two years, Scott Steiner challenged Triple H for Raw’s World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. Steiner had made his return to the WWE some three months earlier at the Survivor Series, and this was his first television match since his signing. Having overcome serious health problems including major nerve damage to his leg, this was perhaps Steiner’s last shot at the big-time.

And it stunk. Move after move was botched, and the crowd booed both wrestlers out of the building as Triple H was disqualified for using his trusty sledgehammer on Steiner. As one noted journalist wrote at the time; “Both men were built like tanks, and moved like tanks as well.” This match was definitely one of the worst of 2003.

Moments later, Kurt Angle defended Smackdown’s WWE title against Chris Benoit. In what was the polar opposite of the previous match, two of the world’s greatest ever wrestlers put on a wrestling clinic, with Angle winning and retaining the title after Benoit tapped to an ankle lock. As the Crippler leaves the ring, he receives a standing ovation for a match that was definitely one of the best of 2003.

Bigger Isn't Always Better

It was at the beginning of April that the WWE unleashed their latest monster upon an unsuspecting wrestling world. Hardly inspiring anyone with his performance, the 7’3” Great Khali attacked the Undertaker, and yours truly immediately began to get flashbacks to WCW and the WWF of the early 90’s.

Back then Ted Turner had a 7’7” Argentinean that couldn’t stand the pace of the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, so he had to find something else for him to do, and what better place for him to go than his wrestling promotion?

An so El Gigante was inflicted on WCW fans. A lumbering joke, Gigante was matched up against the likes of Ric Flair, Sid Vicious and the One Man Gang, until he vanished from the scene in 1992.

Was John Chapman a Victim of His Own Success?

Last September I had the pleasure to interview John Chapman, one of the new, young breed of wrestling promoters in Britain. It was just six months after his debut show, and not long after he’d signed a deal to become the official British affiliate to the legendary American Wrestling Association. In the ten months since that interview, Chapman Promotions, or AWA:UK as they became known, has signed deals to provide wrestling segments for Sky Sports’ popular Soccer AM show, and to provide programming for the new Fight network, due to launch in Britain later this year.

Yet just hours after holding a successful show this past Saturday afternoon, John announced that he was calling it a day, and that AWA:UK was closing down.

If It Wasn't ECW Would You Still Complain?

This past Sunday night I settled down in front of my television to watch the British premiere of a brand new wrestling promotion. The card was very entertaining, some great promos, a battle between two former world champions, a hardcore icon beating the hell out of a useless character, and a very entertaining battle royal.

Oh, and the promotion just happened to be called Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve learned that wrestling fans, internet columnists and magazine writers are indeed an impatient bunch, whose expectation levels are sometimes set way too high at times.

It seems that whenever people hear the letters E, C, and W put together into a cohesive sentence, they hark bark to the mid-nineties. They expect innovative booking, five star matches every day of the week, and they get a picture in their mind’s eye of a group of wrestlers flipping the bird to Ted Turner and Vince McMahon, telling them where they can stick their brand of professional wrestling.

How to Enjoy Wrestling

Today, my friends, I’m going to give you some advice, a lesson if you will. It’s something I’ve learned since I quit working in the wrestling business, and it’s a piece of advice that you, the ordinary wrestling fan, can use.

I’m going to tell you all how you can really enjoy watching the noble art of professional wrestling. It’s really quite a simple piece of advice, and I’m surprised that I never discovered this before.

So what is this piece of advice, this wondrous piece of knowledge that I’m about to impart on you? It’s this - if you want to enjoy professional wrestling, never become friends with a wrestler.

There, I’ve got if off my chest. Now I’m going to tell you how I reached this conclusion.

The British Wrestling Ambassadors

The other day I had a rather interesting conversation with a young British wrestler on MSN Messenger. The young man, who will remain nameless, began his professional career a couple of years ago, and even though he’s sill in the formative stages of his career, he claimed to be an ambassador for ambassador for British wrestling. He got rather annoyed when I disputed this, pointing out that he had only competed for two or three promotions in the south and east of England.

But the youngster got me thinking, thinking about what makes a true ambassador for British wrestling. I began to think long and hard about this subject. For me, a British wrestling ambassador isn’t just someone who competes in Britain, but someone who carries the word about British wrestling around the world, someone who shows that they’re just as good as their counterparts in Europe, America, Mexico and Japan.

Over the past few decades there have been numerous Brits who have made names for themselves abroad, with Davey Boy Smith, the Dynamite Kid and Chris Adams being the first ones that come to mind. But who are the current stars that fly the flag for queen and country around the world? Well, here’s my current ten, starting at ten and working up to number one.

Taking British Wrestling to the Next Level

Recently, on a forum I frequent with great regularity, there was a topic on how a British wrestling company can make it big, how they can attract major investors and sponsorship to move up to the next level. However, despite the fact that kayfabe passed on years ago and that anyone with a pair of kick pads can get into a training school, I learned that the world of professional wrestling here in Britain is still a closed shop in many aspects, and it’s this that may be hindering British wrestling’s progress.

I’m going to approach this subject from a strictly business point of view. I have never run a business, nor do I have any wish to, but I was part of a successful small retail business for seven years, and during those seven years, the business expanded in every year bar one. I observed, I picked up a few tips, and I’d like to try and apply them to a business model for a wrestling promotion.

Why WCW One Night Stand Will Never Happen

Ever since the first ECW reunion shows of 2005, fans around the world have asked if WWE would ever hold a reunion show for that other famous wrestling promotion that closed down in 2001, if we will ever see a “WCW One Night Stand” show.

Well, I’m here to tell you now - it will never happen. And here are the reasons why.

Think back over ten years ago, when the WWF began to publicly acknowledge the existence of other promotions on their televised shows and pay-per-views. Jerry Lawler’s connection with the USWA was recognised. The Smokey Mountain tag-team titles were defended on pay-per-view. A WWF team even won the NWA World tag-team titles. And, of course, ECW stars turned up on Raw for a mini invasion of sorts.

The British Wrestling Magazine War

Since the demise of Bill Apter’s Total Wrestling magazine two years ago, there’s only been one British-based wrestling magazine that consumers have been able to buy - Powerslam. But with the recent launch of Fighting Spirit, Powerslam once again has some competition, and even though it’s early days, let’s take a look at the current king of British wrestling magazines, and new pretender to the throne.

Powerslam magazine has been around for years. Edited by Fin Martin and boasting a writing team consisting of Anthony Evans, Greg Lambert and Mo Chatra, the magazine has firmly established itself in a market that consisted of the often hard to get Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the kayaked WWE publications. In an era when the majority of wrestling fans get their news from the internet on a daily basis, Powerslam clearly aims itself at the smart mark market, and while the magazine is very well researched and put together, there are aspects of Powerslam that don’t sit too well with it’s readership.

What if Shawn Michaels Was a Muslim?

I’m going to start this particular column by making an admission - I’m not a religious man. I never have been, and probably never will be. I’ve only been inside a church once over the past five years, and the next time you’ll see me in one will probably be at my funeral. But this doesn’t mean that I haven’t felt uncomfortable watching WWE lately.

I felt uncomfortable watching Vince McMahon mock Shawn Michaels’ religious beliefs. I felt uncomfortable watching Vince McMahon standing in a church mocking God. I felt uncomfortable watching Vince McMahon standing in the middle of the ring saying that he was going to start his own religion. And I really felt uncomfortable watching Vince McMahon in his office with tons of bread and fish flying around the place, and turning Shane’s water into wine.

So you can imagine how I felt at the beginning of the McMahon’s match with Michaels this past Sunday at Backlash. But while I was watching this, one thing kept going through my mind.

Think about this - what if Shawn Michaels wasn’t a born again Christian? What if Shawn Michaels was a Muslim?

He's Not the Legend Killer, He's a Naughty Boy

Was it really surprising that Randy Orton got suspended from WWE?

Without a doubt, Randy Orton is one of the most gifted wrestlers of his generation. Having suffered a severe shoulder injury early on in his WWE career, Orton came back strongly as part of Triple H’s Evolution group, bringing renewed prestige to the Intercontinental title, cementing his spot as a bright young heel, and becoming the youngest World Champion in WWE history.

But even as far back as 2004, there were rumours. While Orton played the brash, arrogant, cocky heel on television, life was apparently imitating art, as Orton played his character backstage as well, and it didn’t sit too well with many people.

News hit the internet that Orton had played a major role in the departure of Amy Weber and other women WWE  employed after the first Diva Search contest, and rumours of untoward behaviour to other female members of staff continue to this day.

Time to Regulate British Wrestling?

About a week ago I logged onto the Classifieds section of the UK Fan Forum and saw an advertisement for a new British promotion called One Chance Wrestling, promoting their first show, System Failure, in Leeds on June 1st. The line-up for the show looked quite good, with British stars such as Aviv Mayaan, Jack Storm, Dave Moralez, Andy Simmons, former WWE star Joe Legend, and current TNA star Petey Williams booked for the show. I didn’t pay that much more attention to the post, until a few days later when I visited the UKFF again and saw that the thread was then six pages long.

I began to wonder what had happened. Could it be that Kriss Sprules or Daniel Fitch had been arguing with the UKFF regulars again? Upon closer inspection, I found out why this new promotion was now such a hot topic for discussion.

The promoter, Amitai Winehouse, is just thirteen years old.

Only One True World Title?

Everywhere you go in the wrestling world, you’ll find men claiming to be world champions. No matter where they are, in a high school gym, in the middle of nowhere, or in the biggest arenas, you’ll always find someone claiming to be the true world champion, even if they haven’t left their home town in years.

So what promotion in this mixed-up crazy world can really lay claim to have a true world heavyweight title? Let’s look at the usual suspects, taking into account where these titles are defended, and who against.

Stone Cold - The One Trick Pony

Before I go any further, I want to go on record as saying that I’m a huge Steve Austin fan. Ever since I first saw him in the USWA about fifteen years ago, I knew he would become a major player.

But recently I’ve become embarrassed by what I’ve seen of the man on television.

This past Saturday night, Austin took on John Bradshaw Layfield in a beer drinking contest. After downing a few cold ones, Austin took JBL down with a stone cold stunner, before downing a few more cold ones as the live crowd roared their approval. But while the fans in attendance loved every minute of it, to me this little act was becoming stale and tired.

Almost three years ago, Steve Austin put in a great performance against the Rock in what turned out to be his last match. Nobody knew then just how bad Austin’s knee and neck injuries had become. The following night on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff fired Austin for lying about his health problems.

1PW - The Blueprint for British Wrestling

Those of you with long memories will remember my recent review of 1 Pro Wrestling’s debut show, A Cruel Twist of Fate. (It was just last week in fact!). The review was very favourable, and apart from one match, I enjoyed the DVD a great deal.

But there are some things I didn’t put in the DVD review, as they would have seemed out of place in such an article, hence this piece.

You see, I haven’t just been impressed with 1PW’s debut DVD release, I’ve been impressed with the entire company, and although they’ve had a great deal of criticism for using mainly foreign talent, I truly believe that 1PW could teach quite a few other promotions, both old and new, a thing or two, in a way becoming the blueprint for British wrestling. But to see what I mean, you have to go back about three years to the very roots of the company.

The Boogeyman - All Smoke & No Fire?

When I first saw Marty Wright on my television screen, I could tell that there was something different about him. You could tell that he had a real passion for the wrestling business, so much so that he lied about his age in the trials for the 2004 Tough Enough series. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy when the judges threw him out of the competition for his deception.

But while eventual winner Daniel Puder was heading into obscurity, the WWE gave Wright a second chance, and signed him to a developmental deal and sent him down to OVW. And thus, the Boogeyman was born.

Last summer promos began to air for this exciting new character, a character that looked like he would shake things up big time. Injury prevented the Boogeyman from making his scheduled debut, but when he did, he certainly got everyone talking. With his front teeth missing, weird face paint, and clock smashing antics, Wright was causing quite a stir on both Raw and Smackdown.

But then he actually wrestled.

Mark Henry: The Ten Million Dollar White Elephant

It was almost ten years ago when WWF Chairman Vince McMahon took one look at a man who was fresh out of competing at the Atlanta Olympics and who wanted to become a professional wrestler, and signed him to a contract with the idea of making him a big star in the future.

Sadly, this isn’t a column about newly crowned World Champion Kurt Angle, but the WWE’s other current Olympian, Mark Henry.

It was in 1996 that Vince McMahon signed Henry to a massive ten year, one million dollars a year contract, with the intention of training Henry up and pushing him as the next big star, the All-American hero.

But it didn’t quite go that way, did it? Because the WWF was losing the Monday Night Wars to WCW, things were about to change. The era of the clean cut hero was about to change, and the era of the crotch chopping and beer swilling anti-hero was about to begin.