The LilsBoys are the official wrestling gurus for the Sun Online. Each week you can find the LilsBoys exclusive writing on the sun’s website. They also appear on TalkSport every Saturday night alongside Tommy Boyd and Alex Shane (from 8pm to 10pm).
How did the idea for Revival come about and how much input have you had on the event?
The initial idea for Revival came about several months ago. Tommy Boyd was so impressed with the popularity of his wrestling phone in show that he decided to gage interest for a potential night of British wrestling. When he asked people to register their interest by calling a special line the switchboards were jammed.
He spoke to Alex Shane and the FWA guys and the event started to become a reality. Tommy knew that he needed to get some top foreign talent at the show too so signed up Eddy and Brian. We came on board at around this point, when Revival was starting to take shape.
Every Saturday night before the radio show a whole team of us meet up and discuss possibilities for the event. The committee keeps growing and includes Tommy, Alex, FWA representatives, an event manager, a lawyer and of course The LilsBoys.
The meetings were very productive. Despite all of us being experts in certain areas, we were all encouraged to bounce ideas off of each other. This meant we have had input into every different part of the show. As journalists – and more importantly wrestling fans – we gave our views on everything from the necessity of a ramp and pyros to the wrestling itself.
Ok to clarify the matches on the night do you have the complete list of UK wrestlers who will go in to the draw for the King of England tournament, are Eddie Guerrero and Brian Christopher automatically in to quarterfinals or do they have to go in to the draw like the rest and finally will the names that don’t get drawn out be involved on the card?
17 wrestlers will be entered into the draw. Alongside Eddy Guerrero, Brian Christopher and German former ECW star Ulf Herman, the following British stars will be in the hat:
Alex Shane, Doug Williams, Jonny Storm, Robbie Brookside, Drew McDonald, Scott Parker, Flash Barker, Jody Fleisch, The New Breed (Ashe & Curve), Dominator, Tyrant, Guy Thunder and Pliers.
Nobody gets a bye into the quarter finals; they all have to rely on the luck of the draw. The lucky 8 grapplers who are selected will compete in the quarter final matches. The winners will progress until one man is crowned King of England. Winning the tournament is every competitor’s goal.
We imagine that those who are not drawn out of the hat will be so We’re sure that those who don”t get picked will be mighty hacked off. Who know what sort of backstage tensions and match ups this could lead to!!! And, of course, there is the women’s match – Nikita vs. Lexie Fyfe – which should be excellent.
On a more personal note how did you two get interested in wrestling and what do you think of the current UK scene?
Simon: I’ve been a wrestling fan for almost 15 years. A lot of my early school memories are of the grap game. I particularly remember Hogan v Warrior, the whole playground was buzzing over that one! I was also a WCW fan in the pre-nWo days; my dad took me to their UK tour in 1993 (I think) which was the first live wrestling show that I attended. Without Sky TV at home and with the WWF pushing guys like Sid and Lex Luger, I started to watch less wrestling in the mid 1990’s.
Then in late 1997 the WWF attitude era kicked in, perfectly coinciding with my time at University. Everything fell into place – I had cable, time on my hands and a better wrestling product than ever before. From that point on I became truly obsessed.
I think the current UK scene is very strong. What we have always needed is one solid major federation with a national TV deal; you could say the model is the WWF. Without a doubt we have the wrestlers in this country, we just need the fans to realise that!
Richard: Like Simon, I’ve been a wrestling fan for many years. My earliest memories of the grap game are watching UK wrestling on the old “World of Sport” programme. I remember marking out for Big Daddy (I was very young!!!). Like every self respecting kid, I eventually switched over to WWF.
I became a huge fans of guys like Hogan, Warrior, and Jimmy Superfly Snuka and like Simon remember with the playground excitement that surrounded the Hogan vs. Warrior clash at Wrestlemania 6. Of course there is only so much Hulking up that you can stomach and – over a number of years – I slowly lost interest.
I drifted out of watching wrestling until Simon insisted on coming round to my house to watch WM14. I was blown away – it was amazing, I was hooked! At university circa 1998, Simon used to send the tapes of Raw through to me, and I remember being so obsessed that I watched a match involving Mark Henry 3 times!!!! Mark Henry is gone (thank god) but my obsession carried on. We have since caught up on all those years we missed.
The UK scene could take off at any moment. There is so much talent. Once the best UK federations stop bickering and pull in the same direction, we could go a long way. I truly believe that SWAT Revival is the first step.
How busy has it been for you two in the run up to Revival?
We have been extremely busy. Aside from appearing on TalkSPORT radio every Saturday night at 8pm with Tommy and Alex, we also write regular columns for The Sun Online (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport). As Revival has taken off we’ve been asked to write more about British wrestling, most of which, including a webchat with Tommy Boyd, is up on the site now.
Our main challenge has been writing the programme for the event and liasing with other members of the team. It has been a hectic few months and we hope that the results of our hard word will be evident for all those who buy the event programme. We’ve also been doing any odd media related jobs that Tommy wants done.
We know Bravo will be screening the event and TalkSport will be broadcasting it but will any national newspapers or press publications be covering the event?
The mainstream media is extremely interested in Revival. Of course The Sun Newspaper Online is the major player and we have worked extensively to give Revival as much coverage as possible. Keep your eyes on http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport for the latest updates. We will be writing a full match by match review of the show.
We are sure that Revival will start to appear in other national newspapers and magazines very soon. The guys from Powerslam and POW are coming to review the show. We are also certain that there will also be people from national newspapers and television stations there on the 9th. Tommy is sorting this out as we speak.
Alex Shane says he will win the King of England and Tommy is going for Doug Williams so who are your picks to win the King of England Tournament?
Richard: There are so many men who can win King of England. If selected, guys the size of Flash Barker, Pliers, Dominator and Alex Shane will be difficult to overcome. However, after witnessing his brilliant match against the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels, Doug Williams has to be the top British contender. Although, if you’re looking for an outside bet, Scott Parker and Jody Fleisch could spring some surprises. But overall, I have to say that if Grandmaster Sexay Brian Christopher is drawn out of the hat, I’ll be putting my money on him.
Simon: This is a difficult one, I was speaking to Richard today and I picked out 12 men who could possibly win the thing! I just want to sit back and mark out. No matter who wins I know that people will go home raving about Alex, Doug, Jody, Scott and the rest. We also have, in my opinion, the best American wrestler not in the WWF in Eddy Guerrero. Whoever wins, it will be one hell of a show!
On the day of Revival what will be your roles at the event and how’s the Programme looking?
We will be heavily involved on the day. You’ll probably see us around the arena surrounded by fans keen to buy the event programme. If you are going to take home one souvenir from Revival then please make sure it is the official programme.
Some of the UK’s most respected wrestling journalists have contributed including the Mo Chatra from the excellent Powerslam publication. The Sun Newspaper has given some help and Mark Priest, the voice of British wrestling, is also involved.
The A4 full colour glossy programme is a bargain at £5 as it features interesting articles about the history of UK wrestling, profiles of all the stars, plus insights from Tommy Boyd and the LilsBoys. Furthermore there is the chance to WIN A PLAYSTATION 2 and the excellent Legends of Wrestling game. But that’s not all; we have an exclusive – and we mean EXCLUSIVE – interview with a British wrestling legend. You have to buy the programme to find out what this legend has to say about the UK grap game. Take it from us, it is a great read!
What are your hopes for the Revival show itself and what are your hopes for the future of British Wrestling?
We think that we can speak for the whole Revival team when we say that our hope is that people who have come to see the Americans will go home raving about our British stars. For people who’ve never been to a British wrestling event before, or else one of the ‘old school’ shows, Revival will blow them away. If people buzz like we did after watching Jody, Alex, Jonny and especially Doug in action for the first time, then Revival will be a success.
In the long run the hope would be for SWAT to go on a UK tour, selling out big arenas all over the country. With the quality of the wrestlers and behind the scenes talent that we have, this should be a distinct possibility. And of course getting a regular TV show would be a dream come true.
The LilsBoys are the official WWF correspondents for the Sun Newspaper Online where they write a weekly wrestling column. Simon and Richard are also co-hosts of the Saturday night TalkSport phone in show. For more information about them please go to http://www.lilsboys.co.uk
Adam Sibley