Now you have come out from behind the sofa from what can only be termed as Saracen’s big rant, time for me to look back at what was said and perhaps offer a solution to the problems faced in UK Wrestling.
I’m continuing with this stint because I have had a lot of compliments about what I said in my last tenet, not just from wrestlers themselves but also fans who take the scene seriously.
I have recently discovered that I have been extremely fortunate when it comes to wrestling, I have seen some pretty good shows compared to some of the crap that has been presented to me. It has made me completely reassess what was going on, what I first thought of as “crap” actually seems quite good when compared to others.
Ok, I’m a little vague there, I’m doing it on purpose, because I’m not here to name and shame anyone, that really isn’t in my nature. You really know the UK Scene well, you will probably know exactly what I am talking about, if you don’t, just smile and nod for a bit ok?
Thanks.
It suddenly dawned on me that around this country there are people who honestly think they are professional wrestlers and I think it is time that those who know they aren’t just be honest and tell them.
I find it hard to tell someone the harsh truth, I try to evade or say things are ok, but in wrestling I think we need to look at the bigger picture.
Let’s say one wrestler who doesn’t know how to work properly, for… say eleven years, faces a worker, one of two things will happen, they both look bad or one of the two will get themselves hurt.
You see wrestlers are trained to know the standards of wrestling and some of them are so subtle that the only way it is passed on is by someone who has been there and done it.
If you spend eleven years not knowing the standards then you will be putting on bad matches or getting hurt throughout your career, the audience is going to think you are shit.
You then have two avenues; there are the wrestlers who have been taught properly by professional wrestlers and then the ones who have, well, made it up as they’ve gone along. At some point these trainees are going to become teachers and that person is now responsible for the safety of people.
As a trainee wrestler, who would you prefer? The professional or the thinks he’s a professional?
How can anyone tell?
The internet is to blame for a lot of things and I won’t really go into it to be honest, the list of gripes I have with people who think they know what they are talking about and people who will repeat anything they read on the web. People say Kayfabe is dead, perhaps to the person who thinks that, but not 8 year old Timmy, he loves wrestling, so why spoil it for him eh?
The only thing that helps you is the training itself; do you warm up before jumping into training? Do you get shown the basics first before you are shown the cool moves?
It really is hard to decipher the good schools from the bad, as I have recently been reliably informed, even some of the schools with a reputation for good training have slipped.
I think I could urge everyone to look outside from where you are, there is a better way to learn and a proper way to learn. Some good schools set a standard for letting a person in, that is fine except that people don’t always blossom on the first seminar, so a lot more have adopted a “let wrestling sort them out” scheme. It has been a distinct trend that people who shouldn’t wrestle come to the conclusion themselves.
That is of course if they know better, yes, I find wrestling great fun, but it is also hard work, I put the very best of myself into every second of training, I have my problems but they will eventually work themselves out as I grow in experience.
If you are allowed to muck about in training, all you will know what to do is muck about when you get into the ring and that is when people really get hurt!
Then there is the trainees who won’t listen to what they are being taught, there is no level of discipline that you need as a wrestler, there is a lot of self-control and thinking on the spot needed and if all you are thinking about is doing the big manoeuvres or putting your opponent through a table then you really have no right to be in the ring against someone.
I wish I had the ability to go around and find each and every bad worker in the UK and ban them from entering a ring again, there are people in this industry I don’t like, but I know they can work, so given the choice I would wrestle them any day over some half soaked waster.
No, I cannot ban them, so I beg of them here, give up wrestling, please for the sake of the UK Scene. Oh, sorry I forgot they are vain, egotistical and self-centred bastards aren’t they?
I have been watching a lot of promotions on the quiet, a lot of federations haven’t even known I’ve been there to watch them which is great for me, I am just a member of the audience which is what everyone else is, I’ve had people from other federations walk in and mock me, I really don’t care about that, why should I? they’ve paid their money to abuse me.
So I don’t get particularly impressed when the wrestlers begin to assault the audience, unless of course that audience has assaulted them first.
It’s like the saying, there is always someone out there harder than you, if you go out of your way to push someone unnecessarily then you are only to blame if that person gets in the ring and kicks the crap out of you.
As a professional wrestler you and only you are responsible for your welfare. You get hurt in the ring, you accept it as your own fault, and there is no two ways about it Laddo.
If we can generally get rid of this crap that is pulling the rest of the scene down then two things will happen, first of all the match quality will begin to rise, which will not deter people from ever coming to watch wrestling again, secondly, the UK scene will become a lot more popular as people will begin to tell their mate that “wrestling is alright, I went to this one show…”
On a lighter note, on my travels this year I will be attempting to interview wrestlers across the country, conveniently coinciding with my own shows, but hopefully I can help with the scene by highlighting a few wrestlers and their ability, so if you see me, ask me if I’ll be using my dictaphone.
I’ll say “No I use my hands like everyone else”
Babbum tish!
Saz