Guest Blog: Slammed Is a Hit

Mike Lortz, aka Jordi Scrubbings, is back again with another guest piece, this time on Slammed: Inside Indie Wrestling. The show aired last night, so think of this as somewhat of instant feedback. Also, visit his site, because he's a cool dude.

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Danny Inferno, one of the stars of Slammed

National Geographic aired Slammed: Inside Indie Wrestling last night. Being that it was Wednesday and no other wrestling action was on, I felt it was my solemn duty to watch. I was curious how Nat Geo would handle the subject of indie wrestling. Would the fans be depicted as ignorant rednecks and the wrestlers shown as Neanderthals? Would it even show the promoters’ perspective – a view not seen in many shows or even in the movie The Wrestler?

I have never wrestled, nor have I ever put together a show, nor have I promoted one. Despite that, I know quite a bit about indie wrestling, especially the Florida scene. I have been backstage throughout events at several different promotions and even tried to put together a documentary on former ECW manager Bill Alfonso (long story, maybe one day I’ll write about it).

That said, within the first five minutes, I loved Slammed.

The show starts with an indie fed having trouble with talent showing up on time. Promoter Dapper Johnny Falco of National Wrestling Superstars is on the phone with wrestler Danny Gimondo (aka Danny Inferno). Inferno claims to be lost and that he “found the directions on the website”. Falco then asks another behind-the-scenes guy if the directions were on the website. I did social media for All-Stars Wrestling of Florida, a small indy fed in the Tampa area, for six months, so of course I was curious about the NWS website and their web presence. Like most indie feds, it is poor, very, very poor.

Here is their website (which still wishes people a “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”) and here is their Facebook, which doesn’t have any videos of their matches, announcements of new shows or any pictures from their profile. In this day and age, that’s pathetic. The fact that the promoter doesn’t know what’s on the site said everything I need to know right from the start. Why promoters don’t hire local college kids to do their site or run their social media is beyond me. Newsflash: it would look great on a resume. It’s an unpaid internship where you get to be as creative as you want.

But I digress…

After introducing Danny Inferno at NWS, Slammed weaves the story of the wrestler, his quest to re-join the high ranks of wrestling celebrity, the continued story of NWS and their continued attempt to break even – which I now I know is an almost impossible quest for indies nationwide. All this time, I thought not drawing was just a Florida thing.

Along with Danny Inferno – who we learn was once in the WWE developmental – we are also given the story of Michael Paris (aka Shiima Xion/Zema Ion). Both of these wrestlers, one young and exciting, the other the old grizzled stocky veteran, are trying to make the Ring of Honor roster in an attempt to make living wrestling. Slammed shows both men at their home, in training, and then at the RoH tryout, where they are watched by none other than Jim Cornette and wrestling internet community superstar David Lagana.

Meanwhile at NWS, Nat Geo captures an often heard but rarely seen battle of egos between wrestler and promoter as a 150-lb. grappler named JD Smooth is forced to take on two Kamala-looking monsters. Of course, the diminutive hero doesn’t want to be squashed, but the promoter gives him no choice, leaving him with the eternal command of promoters everywhere: “Entertain me.”

After the NWS show, we hear the promoter again lamenting the poor turnouts of his fed. Unfortunately, that’s the catch-22 most indy promotions find themselves in – they don’t draw without a big name and big names cost money, meaning more fans need to show up. Fail to get the required attendance once and you’ll spend months climbing a mountain, wishing the next show will help you finally break even.

Slammed ends with the ROH try outs of Danny Inferno and Michael Paris. Both go well, as we hear Jim Cornette talk highly about both wrestlers. Unfortunately, however, Slammed does not give us a epilogue and tell us that Paris is now Zema Ion of Impact fame and Inferno is still wrestling for NWS (although he is on Twitter and his following is growing).

Overall, I thought Slammed did a great job of showing the independent wrestling scene. Although it was only an hour, it showed that there is much more to pro wrestling than the WWE/Impact and that wrestlers don’t fall out of the sky blessed with the ability to bodyslam. If you are reading this blog, odds are you know pro wrestling is hard work and making it in the business takes determination, luck, and a little bit of crazy. Kudos to National Geographic for shining a light on this seldom seen sliver of sports entertainment.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Programming Note: Spotlight on Indie Wrestling Tomorrow Night

New Jersey's Nigerian Nightmares, one of the acts featured
Photo Credit: NGT

So, National Geographic in the past has looked at wrestling, specifically, the Bolivian lucha libre scene in their actual magazine. This time, they're running a special on their channel called Slammed: Inside Indie Wrestling. The show airs tomorrow night, that's Wednesday, August 24th, at 10 PM. If you have digital cable or satellite TV, you probably get the National Geographic Channel, but if you don't, I'd say call your cable company and ask politely for it, because let's face it, if you demand it, you'll probably raise your blood pressure, and your doctor told you that you should stop doing that.

You can get all the overview you need by clicking the above link to see if this is something you'd be interested in. I think though that you should watch it though, especially if you want to get a look inside the world of indie wrestling, the hardships these guys go through just to make a few shekels and get a glimmer of hope that maybe, Triple H's scouts or someone from Orlando/Nashville likes what they see. Also, it's not all that often that a publication as classy and respected as National Geographic takes a look at wrestling in a positive light, so yeah, that alone is worth your time.

Allison Danger Doesn't Quite Care For Talentless Girlfriends of Workers/Bookers

Support her. Dammit, support her.

Via her own blog

Allison Danger, in addition to being a full-time mother, booker and one of the best female wrestlers in the game, is also a blogger and a feminist. She's not burning bras, but she is doing what everyone should be doing, standing up for women in wrestling. This one's a must read if only because of one of the horror stories she had to go through in North Carolina. Take a read at this passage:

A few years back I was booked to do a show in North Carolina. I was part of a baby face tag team against a heel team of a female with similar time in as me and another female with a little less time but a monster build. Both good opponents to share a ring with. Unfortunately, the worker booked as my tag partner had to cancel off. The promoter, instead of finding a suitable female wrestler, decided to put in a worker’s girlfriend who, I believe, had never even taken a bump yet. Good times! We were able to structure a match around this person’s limitations and the match was go. Sadly, about two minutes into the heat, this gal tags out and leaves the rings because....wait for it....SHE GOT BORED TAKING THE HEAT. Thankfully, the remaining members of our match, who were not bored, were able to pull together a somewhat decent ending that didn’t kill them and told a story. In the back we get no apology and no explanation other than the “I was bored” and “I was in there for so long I thought you guys were playing a joke on me”. She spent the rest of the night suction cupped to her boyfriend while fixing her hair so she could manage him in the main event. Worst part is, neither the boyfriend (who was also her trainer) nor the promoter saw any problem with this behavior. Guess what, gang. This happens all the time (well, not the bored part, that was new to even me!). In this case, we were lucky that no one in the match was hurt. Not everyone gets that lucky. This does not happen to the guys so why are us females subjected to it? This is where we need to learn to say no. To do so in a respectful and professional manner. I feel secure in myself and my position that I can finally say no to doing matches like that. If the promoter chooses not to use me then cool. As long as I know I handled it professionally and within reason then I know I can sleep well having lost that booking. Not every female wrestler has that luxury though. We as women need to band together to protect one another. If we stand together we have a genuine shot as changing this mentality and providing a safer environment for one another. I am going to summarize something Lufisto told me one of the first times we met (I repeat this sentiment in training and seminars regularly now); “We may not like everyone but in the ring we are all best friends. And that is how we need to protect each other”. Perfection.

Yeah. That definitely happened. So yeah, if you think that WWE treats women bad, things can be even worse, just as some indie promoters can be sleazier than the mainstream.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

The PWI 500: Does It Matter?

The PWI 500 for me used to be a huge deal 20 or so years ago. Back when I was really young and I was swaddled in the cloth of kayfabe, this kind of thing was so intriguing. As I grew "smarter"₁, the list diminished more and more in significance until the point where earlier this week, I used it mockingly in my slam piece on Kevin Kelly. So yeah, asking the question "Does the PWI 500 matter?" in regards to a guy like me seems like an easy question right off the bat. In terms of ranking the best wrestlers in the world via kayfabe, no, it doesn't matter to me, because as this sort of wrestling critic, I don't take the same things into consideration as PWI does (although interestingly enough, their 2010 #1 was the same as my 2010 Wrestler of the Year, so maybe we're not too far off from each other...).

I'm well aware that I'm not the target audience, but reading through Twitter the other day, I was reminded that maybe the kids and the "It's still real to me, dammit" crowd aren't the only people PWI aim their list to.

Yep, that's Chikara standout and TWB favorite Sugar Dunkerton, chest puffed out over his placement in the list. It was his reaction that made realize that hey, this isn't just some fantasy ranking of guys trying to use the same criteria for companies that use vastly different ways of making their guy a star. This is about recognizing guys for doing work on all levels of the world stage. This isn't the PWI 50 or 100. Five hundred, current wrestlers we're talking about here, is a hefty number for the climate right now. The entrants aren't just coming from the top level indie guys or people in WWE or Impact that may or may not give a shit if a magazine for "marks" rates them high. This is for the guys like Sugar D who work hard to get recognized, who compete in promotions that may or may not have a national reach, who bust their asses to entertain sometimes in front of 20 people and appreciate all the limelight that is shone upon them.

So yeah, maybe the PWI does have more of a purpose than to rate wrestlers for the kids at home. It's about recognizing the guys who may not be the household names yet, and in turn, giving the kids, and hell, even guys like me a reason to go to a local indie card with names unfamiliar otherwise. It's probably time we started to reconsider the PWI 500's place and maybe giving it a little more credence, just not for the reasons that the editors and publishers of it set out to make it for initially.

1 - In quotes because really, am I that smart when it comes to this, or better yet, is it better to be a "smart" wrestling fan?

Wrestling Six Packs: Best Indie Gimmicks

Peck and Veronica, Chikara's new power couple

There are two kinds of characters: regular people and gimmicks. Some gimmicks are bad or okay, but they get over because the guy playing it is an awesome performer. Some gimmicks are awesome in and of themselves, and get over with talented wrestlers or middling guys alike. This six pack chronicles the awesome gimmicks that you find in indie wrestling. Why? Because there are some awesome gimmicks in indie wrestling, that's why.

1. Archibald Peck

There's a certain amount of silliness needed to do a good gimmick. I mean, when wrestling's good, a part of it has to make people laugh, right? Well, even with the inherent goofiness involved, usually, the guy playing the character wants his gimmick to be somewhat cool, right? Yeah, not Archibald Peck. There's probably nothing dorkier than being in a high school band, and that's what makes this gimmick work so well. He's intentionally nerding it up and he and his lovely Veronica put their all into it. It doesn't help that the guy behind the character is supremely talented. BE that as it may, every time you see him come out with his band hat, twirling his baton, marching emphatically to a brass-n-drum version of "Any Way You Want It", you can't help but smile, even if you're supposed to boo the guy out of the building.

2. Cedric the Hitman

From the super silly to the super serious, Cedric the Hitman is actually a brilliant, brilliant gimmick that I'm surprised hasn't been tried yet in the bigger feds. Basically, he's hired muscle. You pay him and he takes out the target. In NWA Hollywood, where he resides, he's most recently been used by Austin Aries to continually harass Scorpio Sky, and he became a really big part of that angle while it was ongoing.

3. LuFisto

What does being a "Super Hardcore Anime" entail? Well, it's probably the most abstract gimmick listed here, but it's an incredibly fun part of any SHIMMER show that I watch on DVD. Basically, she's supposed to be the living embodiment of an anime character, and she has a figurine that she talks to and gets advice from. It's so weird and manic that it works, and it makes her the highlight of any show she's on.

4. Grizzly Redwood

He's a lumberjack and he's okay, he sleeps all night and he works all day. Haha, cheesy Monty Python reference aside, the short-guy lumberjack is a great gimmick. I think a lumberjack character would work for a guy of any size; refer back to the ROH Video Wire segment where he was training Delirious as an example. I just think that a 5'4" guy who's supposed to be a stout feller of trees is such an epic visual. Plus I really like flapjacks. Hell, if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably name this blog "I Want to Go to IHOP with Grizzly Redwood" instead of The Wrestling Blog. But that'd be gimmick infringement.

5. Matt Classic

There are old school characters, REALLY old school characters and then there's Matt Classic. A character purported to be such a veteran that he was in a fed with Abraham Lincoln, the good friend of Colt Cabana pops up from time to time to do calisthenics, make daring leaps from the first rope and purvey old school wrestling holds like the drop suplex and the claw. He's also super surly, and if you can, seek out footage from the tag gauntlet from night 3 of King of Trios this year, especially his interactions with Sara del Rey and Daizee Haze. It's wonderfully chauvinistic, but eminently amusing.

6. The Throwbacks

The last spot has to be a shout to my boys, the original playas from Chikara-land. The ABA baller and the turn-of-the-century batsman would have been great gimmicks on their own. Pairing them together is genius, I think. Both characters have a wealth of material to draw from, and all of it is potentially crowd pleasing. Both Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton have found guises worthy of making a career out of.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Experience Experience

Aries: About as old as Macho Man at his WWF debut age

When "Macho Man" Randy Savage showed up for duty at the newly-expanded-to-national World Wrestling Federation, he was a fresh-faced newcomer who was making his first REAL impact in the United States outside of Kentucky and Memphis.

He was also 32 years old with nine years experience as a pro wrestler.

If the WWF had the same standards then that the WWE today has now, then we may never have had the pleasure of watching Savage. It's rumored that WWE doesn't take on new signees over the age of 30. Whether that was a ploy by Gabe Sapolsky, who broke that news on his site, to garner more sympathy for the indie stars like Chris Hero and Austin Aries who for whatever reason aren't on WWE's radar or if it's true that it's policy is irrelevant, given that the company has trended towards recruiting guys at very young ages, sending them to FCW for however long they feel necessary and then debuting them on the big stage. From an institutional standpoint, that's a great plan. You want someone indoctrinated into the style your company purveys, then by all means, you should do it from the time they really start to learn how to become a "superstar" in their parlance.

But there does seem to be something missing from a lot of the NXT alums (Daniel Bryan excluded, obviously) and FCW call-ups that even the "new blood" of five years ago had in spades. Is the downturn in the wrestling business to blame? Or is it that maybe FCW isn't exactly the best environment in which to gain experience on how to break into WWE as a ready-to-go entity?

Really, a guy like Savage, or even folks like Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan (who coincidentally got part of his seasoning as part of the regional-era WWWF), Ricky Steamboat, King Kong Bundy, Ted DiBiase and other mainstays of the early national-expansion-era WWF got their experience from the territory system. It's a system that was struck a critical blow by the rise of WCW as an answer to the WWF, and it's something that we will probably never see again in terms of how important it was back in those days. How do you replicate that, a system where guys learn how to work, promo and do all the things that pro wrestlers do in order to manipulate crowds?

Maybe the answer does lie in the indies. Notice that the people who are really making splashes in WWE in terms of character, work or both, are all on the older side and have that experience. Dolph Ziggler was a throwback from the old developmental territories, where guys like Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman were calling the shots (making it feel like more of an indie fed rather than a precursor to WWE?). Daniel Bryan, Kharma and CM Punk all made their bones in the indies, especially in ROH. Wade Barrett, Sheamus and to a very limited extent in terms of character polish, Drew McIntyre, all came from Europe, where things work a bit differently. The only one that I can see that has risen up and really been given faith from the front office (even intermittently) that came from FCW was Jack Swagger, and even then, he feels way more polarizing to the smart fans I converse with than others.

It might seem that the point I'm making is that FCW BAD INDIES GOOD, but that's not really the case. I don't think that FCW in and of itself is bad, but I do think that maybe there's too much of an emphasis on rushing guys up from the fed and putting them into the spotlight at too early an age. I think that having Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton work out the way they did at young ages maybe turned the WWE front offices away from the fact that those guys were the exceptions, not the rules.

Maybe there should be more of an incubation time in FCW for these guys, unless an obvious exception to the rule comes along and deserves to get shunted up to the main roster. Maybe the indies should be scoured more and guys like Aries, Hero, Claudio Castagnoli and even Jimmy Jacobs (a guy of whom I'm not a fan but has appeal) should be considered. Maybe more experience is needed for guys coming in so that they have a handle on how to do things rather than needing to learn them on the fly on camera, which to me is too late.

Does it take shelf-life away from wrestlers when they start later? Maybe, but at the same time, look at how long guys from "back then" stayed around and were effective at playing crowds and drawing money. Either way, experience isn't a bad thing, and really, the WWE should be looking at getting as many good years as they can from guys, not as many years, no matter what the quality.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!