ButchReedMark

I hope you no-sold it.

I dunno what it is? Probably the mixture of Dusty Rhodes and Chris Cruise's hilarious commentary, and just loads and loads of fun matches. There's a match between Bunkhouse Buck/Dick Slater vs The Lightning Express which is legitimately one of my favourite matches ever. It's just a totally fun show.

You can all call me wrong and an idiot, but I love WCW Prime in 1995 more than life itself.

I don't think you grasp just how bad the old MC was. At a show in Welshpool when Lempit Opik was injured and taken off on a stretcher due to our top heel he actually said "Let's all give Kade Callous a big hand! Oh, hang on... Erm... There's hotdogs at the stand, £2 each!". The day I drunkenly accosted the promoter was the last time the MC worked for us. They chose a drunk with no experience over him. He was THAT bad. I was totally justified in my rantings against him. And yes, I'm known for my fine company on a night out indeed! Wine, women and song.

My anecdote's about how I starting getting involved in shows. The Stiwt, Rhosllanerchrugog, 2010. Welsh Wrestling is putting on a show in the venue, featuring James Mason, Stevie Starr who had a cup of coffee in NXT as Gavin Reid, Mean Tommy Dean (most underrated villain in the UK), and many many more quality wrestlers. However, the MC, or Ring Announcer for thos in the States, was fucking dire. A woman fell down the stairs and he started panicking on the mic going on about "Technical Difficulties" and did the touring promotion amjor faux pas of saying "give a warm welcome" when announcing the villains, along with constantly reminding us there are hot dogs for sale. He's so fucking bad at his job and I'm so incredibly drunk that I demand to see the promoter, and tell him I want to be involved in this company. And he says "Well, you've got pretty good size, I like my wrestlers big. What are you? 6'1"? About 16st? I suggest you train in All Star's school in Birkenhead and I'll have a look at you" and I correct him "No mate, no. fucking no. That MC's fucking shit mate. Shite. Fucking shite. I want to be the MC.". "MC?" "MC.". "You got any experience?" "No." "Why should I hire you then?" "Because even a fucking dog is better than the one you've got now!" "Good point, we've a show in Porthmadog in a week. Show up at Y Ganolfan for 3. And Gaz?" "Yes?" "Don't fucking show up drunk" A week later I went to Porthmadog, with a carrier bag full of lager cans, met with a withering look from the promoter, Alan. But I didn't get drunk. Until after the show when I got absolutely shitfaced in the locker room after getting bollocked by one of the wrestlers who was billed at 6'2" for not stooping my knees when in the ring with him (He must have been 5'10") and then I proceeded to piss the bed in the hotel. And now, 5 Glorious Years (/Larry Z) later, I'm still with them, and have been lucky enough to make many great friends through it. Oh yeah, and one time I was leaving the ring, and James Mason was entering it and started shaking the ropes joking about doing his high energy fun babyface act where we'll normally have a bit of interaction as he enters, but despite years of Rugby I have the balance of a one legged cow, and ended up doing a Nestea Plunge. The boys called it "the greatest bump they had ever seen" until I let them in on my secret which is that I just lost my balance and fell backwards on my head.

He wined and dined with Kings and Queens, and slept in alleys and ate pork and beans. That cadence, that presence, that emotion he can put forth. Dusty is one of my top top top favourites of all time and I'm absolutely devastated. When this is bettered, I'll be a Dutchman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND4zLt5YctI

A friend of mine, Gary Welsh/Gary Clwyd, came out of retirement after a few years the other week. He used to be on Reslo a fair bit buy all accoiunts, but I don't have much memory of it. What are your thoughts on him OJ?

James was only 18 or 19 or so then, so I don't think he'd have been ready for the US, despite being a 4-5 year vet.

Bischoff says FX wanted Nitro. Surely when Kellner cancelled WCW programming he could have just taken FX up on that and dropped Thunder as it was just making life more difficult?

This might be of interest. The 2013 reboot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZC2_02gug

Mick McManus' hair never gets old. Literally.

My 33 year old sister mainly watches because she lusts for John Cena and Randy Orton. Especially Orton. Including trying to cajole my elderly mother into saying she'd shag him.

Don West gets really good as an announcer. Unfortunately it's not for 7 years.

Well said. If anything I always found Lex Luger's approach to wrestling very refreshing. After all, it is a business, why wouldn't you approach it like a businessman and professional would in any other sphere of work? It's a job after all, in the end of the day. More people should treat it like one and the industry would probably be a better place for those in it.

Dustin Rhodes is in my favourite 20 wrestlers of all time. Austin's great, but he's not that great. Rhodes had all of 1990- March 1995, then multiple other fun runs over the next 20 years (I even enjoyed his TNA run in 2004 as the Lone Star), I don't think Austin just has the numbers to match up.

Yeah, PROGRESS is London. I have to keep my ear to the ground with what's going on with British Wrestling and where everything is as I work in it and if I'm out of the loop I can't join in all the bitching backstage at shows about everyone else and what they're doing so I'm pretty much a walking almanac of who's running where these days. It takes brain space would would be better used on trying to move out of my parents house, or getting a new missus.

I know a big thing is made by TNA about their TV coverage here in the UK, being available in 95% of homes and all, but I do wonder how much they're actually getting paid? It can't be that much, as Challenge is a low budget channel. Other than TNA all it shows are old repeats of Game Shows from the 80s and 90s which are going to be cheap as fuck to show. I'd imagine their deal in India is probably pretty good, but I'd wager the deal with Challenge is better for exposure than remuneration.

On a tangent, I've read Pro Wrestling for Dummies (authored by a drunk Lou Albano) and it was so bad it made me stop liking wrestling for a fortnight. The only thing you'd learn from that book is that Dwayne Johnson's real name is Rocky Melvin.

London, London, always bloody London. Lucha, PROGRESS, always in London, well far away from North Wales. And even more frustratingly, Jim Smallman who runs PROGRESS lives near me in North Wales, I've been led to believe. WHY LONDON? FUCK LONDON.

WCCW wins the war!

Is there any real value in the tape library? I couldn't see it being a major draw to the network, just bits and bobs for filler on Sting or Kurt Angle DVDs. If Vince were to buy it any price higher than peanuts is a rip off.

Shamatuerism rears it's ugly head again. Scott Gibbs' autobiography is full of stories about Swansea or Neath directors giving him well paid jobs he'd not be expected to show up to. The IRB should have gone pro far earlier. Thanks for clearing that up, very helpful. Amazing that they used to draw more with the utter shite they'd have on the pitch Pre William Webb Ellis Cup being for grabs then they do now with top flight (past it) stars. Although Japan did beat us the other summer and I nearly killed myself over it. Third string Wales XV or not. Anyway, I'll stop blithering on about the sport of kings now.

It was basically a very mini essay on Shamateurism and Amatuerism in Rugby Union until professionalism being instituted by the IRB in 1995 (as opposed the the article claiming it was a popular professional sport in Japan in the 70s), the schizm of Rugby Union and Rugby League to add background to that along with the non-existence of a "All World" team in 1976 that Hara was reported in said article as playing for. I have records of World XV game in 77 against the Springboks and Hara was nowhere near that team (at one poing I thought maybe he appeared for international barnstormers the Barbarians vs someone like the East Midlands or something), but instead after some research though my old Rothmans Yearbooks and Welsh club programmes that he was actually on a somewhat more ragtag and less impressive "Overseas International XV" consisting of a Fijian, a Tongan, (back when the Pacific Island teams weren't the competitive forces they are now) Canadians (Pre Gareth Rees and Al Charron driving them to decency in the early 90s) and Rhodesians with a mercy addition of a few Kiwis, Wallabies and Bokkers along with FERGAL FUCKIN' SLATTERY which played somewhat less prestigious celebration games for club anniversary's against Cardiff and Gloucester. I also challenged him on Rugby being popular in Japan in the 70s, as I argue it's far bigger in the era of professionalism due to the likes of world record try scorer Daisuke Ohata (although the less said about the opposition for most of those tries the better) and motor and other major companies bank rolling teams so they could sign bonafide superstars like Ma'a Nonu, George Gregan and Shane Williams. But I think he's of the knowledge that Hara leaving the amatuer ranks of Rugby Union to sign over to wrestling was a real big story when it happened, and I won't argue with him on that, as my knowledge of Japanese Wrestling is absolutely disgraceful. I'm just of the opinion that looking at Japan Top League attendance now and and players drawn and the fact the Top League didn't exist in the decade of the flared trouser that it wasn't a particularly big game in the 70s, and it probably isn't one now but it's certainly a fair shot bigger. I assume OJ as a Kiwi in Japan can go some way to confirm or deny this? But it's nowhere near the SANZAR, French, English, and Celtic/Italian leagues. Although in 2016 a Japanese team will be joining SANZAR league club competition. And they're going to get beaten like Ike beat Tina every time out. Ha, and I've fucking done it again. I just love to talk Rugby history, especially when it's tenuously linked to wrestling

Dave didn't like my last post in here seemingly. Oh well, I couldn't give a toss, well actually I could as it's about Rugby and I give a massive toss about Rugby to the point of obsession. Although the swearing and typing out far more than I needed to in a e-mail wasn't actually to get at Dave, but instead a reflection of how it just bothers me so much how poorly Rugby is covered in places which aren't the former British Empire. But kudos to "BlizzardRohypnol" or something like that on the attempt to stir something up which ended up with Dave saying "There wasn't loads of corrections, just some, but the handsome Welshman was right and I've put the corrections in next weeks issue". It's not just the WO. Everywhere, fucking everywhere. Erroneous bollocks about Rugby. No-one ever researches it. Hara's wiki claims that he was in the 1974 Japanese World Cup side, there wasn't even a Rugby World Cup until 1987. It makes me want to stove heads. I always just assumed or hoped that Dave, being the top range journo he is would have researched it better.

Rugby made a rare appearance in the Observer this week, and pretty much everything in there to do with it was choc full of errors. For the sake of 10 minutes of research Dave could have done, I wouldn't have spent the morning swearing under my breath and having to e-mail a load of corrections off to him.