Well, hello. Welcome once again to the column ‘They’ call The Live Wire. Of course, ‘They’ don’t actually read it, and it’s probably for the best – who knows what ‘They’ would call it after ‘They’ read one?
It’s that time again, or more to the point, it’s a day later than normal. I know, I know, poor show, what? But never mind – I’m here now… and I really don’t have a lot to talk about. With that in mind, I intend to review of a wrestling newsletter I was sent. Pro Wrestling Press owner and editor Greg Kelly was kind enough to send along the latest edition of his long running publication, and I was more than happy to give him a little publicity.
I’d long heard of the Pro Wrestling Press (PWP) as they have been on the go for some time now, and advertise themselves as ‘Europe’s leading fanzine’ – and to be honest, if anyone can lay claim to that title over the PWP, then I want to see it.
The first impression you get from PWP isn’t what you’d expect from a fanzine. Maybe it’s because I’m of the ‘old school’ football fanzine scene, but PWP stands out due to it’s professional style presentation and design. Photos are used liberally throughout, and the text is clear and easy to follow in every article – definitely a plus point.
At this point I should say I’ve only really seen a few issues of the ‘Big Two’ sheets, the Wrestling Observer and Pro Wrestling Torch newsletters. While PWP can’t compete with those in terms of instant news or scoops (and to be fair, it’s a different type of publication totally) it holds up presentation wise in my opinion. I found the Observer and Torch to be small and fiddly to read – PWP doesn’t have that problem.
The front page star and big article in the edition I read was an interview with Steve Corino. The interview was nicely done, and presented in a nice, warm manner… there was no hatchet jobs or hidden agendas from either side – it really did come across as just two guys talking wrestling, and as such, I thought it was very well done indeed.
This issue’s other interview was a shorter, but no less enjoyable interview with NWA-TNA’s ‘Wildcat’ Chris Harris, one half of America’s Most Wanted. Shorter than Corino’s, yet it still was a great read, and again came across very well on the page.
The highlight of the PWP for me was ‘Uptown’ Frankie Capone’s road diary. Maybe this edition’s diary was a lucky pick to be sent, as this one covered the recent NWA-Mid Atlantic tour of China, the first wrestling tour of China by any western promotion.
Capone has a solid reputation on the Indy circuit, and this diary didn’t do anything to harm that view. Coming across in his diary as honest – to the point of saying that one of his matches may have been boring – he manages to paint a picture of what ‘life on the road’ is really like, and it’s not as glamorous as it’s made out to be.
An unusual, but welcome feature is Patrick McGovern’s look at a single match, an Iron Man Match between CM Punk and Chris Hero in the German wXw promotion. The match ended up going over 90 minutes, and Patrick’s in-depth look at the match doesn’t skimp on any details. By explaining the reasoning why each man performed certain moves, it serves to give the match a sense of importance, and explain match psychology to people that may not grasp it totally.
Jamie Clubb’s (and I must admit ignorance of who he is, or his promotion – sorry peeps) well written piece following the building of a new promotion from the idea, to the planning out of the direction of the company, and eventual debut show is an interesting piece too – his commentary on the project never veers into shameless self-promoting territory, unlike so many I’ve read over the years.
While I had already seen a WWE Contract before I read John Lister’s very good look at one in this issue, for those that haven’t, it’s very much a must see piece. It goes through a standard WWE contract clause by clause, laying out what each clause means, and who benefits from it… no prizes for guessing who comes off the worst in the great wrestler vs. WWE battle…
Other features in the fanzine also fare well – Martin Walton’s Puro history piece looks like it’s been a good series; 20 year veteran Dusty Wolfe’s look back at ribs he’s been around in his career is a good read, while not exactly being anything groundbreaking; Phil Austin has a quick look at the WWE music and it’s impact; Matthew Singh’s two detailed pieces (a look at Steroid usage and a round up of WrestleMania’s greatest moments) are also worth reading, if you can put up with the slightly preaching tone.; Sickboy’s take on the Internet Wrestling Community is sharply written, and very funny indeed.
Overall, I am very impressed by the Pro Wrestling Press. I’ll admit to some trepidation when Greg said he’d send me a copy to look over, but any fears I had were quickly dispersed by the quality of the magazine put together by Greg and his staff. If you’re in the UK, or in fact anywhere, I would wholeheartedly recommend Pro Wrestling Press to anyone as a damned good read… once you’ve put down the printouts of The Live Wire that I know you all have, of course…
You can contact Greg Kelly and the Pro Wrestling Press at editor@pwpress.co.uk or check out the website at PWPress.co.uk.
Subscription rates range from £11 for three issues to £48 for 14 issues.
Until then, have fun, go mad.
Tony Cottam