broke Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 More please - Between this and Wrestling's Greatest cons this stuff is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Has anyone been following the Hardy/Keller e-fight? This came out of a Matt Hardy Myspace blog responding to a Eric Bischoff blog about him and Jeff: Let's get into the topic that I'm gonna address today, which is also thtitle of this blog-"Byproducts That Are Created By Success." For me, there are many positive byproducts created from my 10 plus year career and hectic schedule with the WWE. The first being happiness and gratification. Being a WWE Superstar was a dream for me in the true sense of the word as a kid. Whether you love me or hate me, there's no denying I've had an amazing WWE career and stand out as one of today's top stars. Being fortunate enough to have accomplished that standing has led to other things for me. Being able to influence and inspire others, being able to give back to the wrestling business, amazing life stories, personal satisfaction, and financial security. Whenever I look in the mirror I remind myself how blessed I am. I'm also happy and at peace with the person I see in the mirror looking back at me. I did things the right way, by earning everything I've ever received. I started from the absolute BOTTOM of the pro wrestling world with no inside connections to fast-track me. I have busted my ass every step of my journey and was happy to do it. I've never stabbed anyone in the back or cut anyone's throat to get where I'm at. And whether you agree with that or not.. I will always be proud of that fact. There are so many wonderful and positive things my success has made possible and allowed me to do. On the other end of the spectrum though, there are other byproducts created by success-critics and negative opinions. It comes with the territory and I have learned to not only accept them, but to embrace them as motivation. Which brings me to some comments that were made about me that I was recently made aware of. I'll be the first to admit, I love keeping up with my profession on all levels, including the rumor-mill known as the internet. The last two weeks I've had such a hectic schedule between my day job and my other projects, I've haven't been up to speed on the current internet "topics." A good friend of mine showed me some comments a former power broker in the sports entertainment business made about yours truly. After I read his comments, I actually started laughing they were so off the mark. He then proceeded to make a couple of comments about Jeff, without knowing actual facts, which just made him look like a rotten person. Here's verbatim what was said about me.. "Matt, you are a friggin goof. Your recent recap of your “lifestyle” frames you as a candidate to the Jake Roberts Hall of Fame. Your suggestion that you and your generation are “smarter and more responsible” than previous generations of wrestlers makes me sick. You are a mid-card talent that should be grateful to even get a check every other week. Enjoy it while it lasts. And rather than looking down your nose at previous generations of professional wrestlers, donate a portion of your check to one of them and ask them to point out all the parallels between your current career path/lifestyle and theirs." I find it funny that my "suggestions make him sick", yet he cares enough about me and my blog to read it and actually comment on it. Because I certainly didn't even know he had a blog or gave a damn about it until someone made me aware of it. So I'm gonna give this individual just what he was looking for by taking a couple of ignorant jabs towards someone he apparently cares about-some publicity on the net. Alright, let's break this down.. "Matt, you are a friggin goof. Your recent recap of your “lifestyle” frames you as a candidate to the Jake Roberts Hall of Fame." Hmm.. Absolutely no disrespect toward Jake Roberts, a guy who sacrificed to keep the business up and running so I could work in it one day, I don't think you could possibly be any further off. Besides my wrestling income, I have other projects and situations that produce income for me. I'm a little bit of an entrepreneur, kinda like you, HA. I could have retired already, dating back to 2005. I'd say that's pretty responsible for someone who just turned 34 years old. I'm not a drug guy either-I've never been in trouble, I've never had to battle demons, and the Wellness Program loves me. For the record, when I was out all night at Shane Helm's place, it was a New Year's Eve party. The majority of America stays up late that night. I was off the next day, and was able to get enough sleep to catch up. The following Friday after our Ft. Lauderdale live event, I went to eat with a friend after the show around midnight and hung out for a while. And because my sleep schedule had been wacky for a couple of days, I was wide awake. Sorry, didn't have or was willing to take any kind of "substances" to put me to sleep before my 4:30 a.m. wake up call. Had to disappoint you. Or the condescending "pro wrestling journalist" who writes for the preposterous Minnesota .com site who also made some patronizing remarks about the same situation. Once Saturday night rolled around, I was back on my regular sleeping schedule. You guys do realize we keep outrageous hours at work that constantly change depending on scheduling and traveling right? Just checking.. "Your suggestion that you and your generation are “smarter and more responsible” than previous generations of wrestlers makes me sick." First and foremost, hope you're feeling better. And by the way, since you were singling him out, my brother does not make up my entire "generation." Things have changed SO much for the better since I started with the WWE full-time in 1998. I consider my generation roster beginning from around the time myself, Jeff, Edge, and Christian started with the WWE, 1998ish. Even before the Wellness Program began, the majority of my generation didn't want to end up dying early or broke if they were fortunate enough to make a good living in the business. And we learned that from those who had come before us. The majority of us were smart enough to learn from the mistakes of those who paved the way for us. The business isn't perfect, but it's damn sure better and more responsible than it's ever been. I stand completely behind that statement. If you have an issue nowadays, you have to either change or be gone. If I'm not mistaken, you're friends with DDP-he was around some of our generation for a while, ask him his opinion on the subject. On top of that, Vince McMahon and the WWE have been working diligently on all levels-in an honest attempt to keep their employees as safe and as healthy as possible by utilizing the Wellness Program, cardio testing, impact testing, and constant physical check-ups. "You are a mid-card talent that should be grateful to even get a check every other week. Enjoy it while it lasts." HAHAHA!! Ewww.. Scott Hall finger thing.. Mid-Card, grateful to even get a check.. Wow, that's upsetting. I'm going on 11 years with the WWE and my 1099's (which I just looked at for 2008) certainly don't have a number on them that implies I'm lucky to be getting a paycheck. And just for the record, for the last 11 months, I have consistently been at nearly all televisions tapings-more than any other talent has. Enough of justifying myself though, I feel in good company. If I'm not mistaken, that's the same sentiment you had about Steve Austin-and he turned out ok. Maybe there's a small ray of hope for me yet.. "And rather than looking down your nose at previous generations of professional wrestlers, donate a portion of your check to one of them and ask them to point out all the parallels between your current career path/lifestyle and theirs." I don't look down my nose at anyone. No one from any walk of life. I don't even see how you could take my comments out of context that far to even suggest that. I am especially grateful to the previous generations who kept the business alive so I could leave the life I do today. Anyone who knows me well personally knows that. I've busted my ass for a long time with a master plan of positioning myself into a certain situation. A situation that I'm responsible for where I'm happy, secure, and free to dictate my daily activities. On my own, I've more or less gotten to that point. I've never asked for any donations, so I don't feel responsible to give out any. And call me crazy, but I think my current career path/lifestyle is gonna be just fine. Kellers response: Matt Hardy and Eric Bischoff have been going back and forth lately in a relatively heated exchange over whether the new generation of wrestlers will be more or less likely to have some of the health issues of the older generations. Here's part of Matt's latest reply, including comments aimed at me in bold... "The majority of America stays up late that night. I was off the next day, and was able to get enough sleep to catch up. The following Friday after our Ft. Lauderdale live event, I went to eat with a friend after the show around midnight and hung out for a while. And because my sleep schedule had been wacky for a couple of days, I was wide awake. Sorry, didn't have or was willing to take any kind of 'substances' to put me to sleep before my 4:30 a.m. wake up call. Had to disappoint you. Or the condescending "pro wrestling journalist" who writes for the preposterous Minnesota .com site who also made some patronizing remarks about the same situation. Once Saturday night rolled around, I was back on my regular sleeping schedule. You guys do realize we keep outrageous hours at work that constantly change depending on scheduling and traveling right? Just checking." For those who don't subscribe to the PWTorch Newsletter, here's what I wrote, which is what Hardy is replying to... "I'm pretty much with Bischoff on this one. Not necessarily in predicting Hardy's on the same career-path as those he criticizes, but on Hardy being a 'goof,' to use Bischoff's term. This didn't make Hardy look good. He's largely right that the specific problems that plagued many wrestlers of the 1980s might not be suffered by today's generation of WWE wrestlers, "The Wrestler" isn't about today's wrestlers who have long runs in WWE and save their money. But it might be about the wrestlers who have their time in the spotlight, a Chris Masters or Chris Harris or D-Lo Brown type, who logs a lot of years in the big leagues but then continues to log years on the indy scene, battling the same issues such as pain pill addiction, financial problems, alcoholism, post-concussion syndrome, and an addiction to fame. I just don't have a lot of patience for wrestlers who have it good, and are surrounded only by wrestlers who also have it good and are smart with their money, and think that's reflective of the entire universe. The fact is, not every wrestler from the 1980s ended up like Curt Hennig or Rick Rude or The Renegade or Brady Boone or Chris Benoit. Some saved their money, got out before they got badly hurt or addicted to pills, and live productive, happy, healthy lives outside of wrestling. There's the Robert Gibsons, Dory Funks, Jim Brunzells, and Lanny Poffos who are doing just fine." I guess it's fair that he name-calls, since I agreed with the name-calling by Bischoff describing him as a "goof." I do find it odd that I'm "preposterous" since he agreed to let me interview him and his brother Jeff for the Ultimate Insiders DVD only a few years ago. Maybe it's only when I criticize him that I become a pseudo-journalist or preposterous. (Actually, I think he hasn't liked me much since I called him out for working his devoted message board/social site fans with the Lita-Edge situation once it went from a shoot to a work, as I really came down hard on him for that because the same people whom he leaned on for emotional support during a real-life tough time he was going through he used as pawns once it moved into a storyline. But I stand by those comments and was really disappointed in him for doing that back then. That's when he stopped returning my calls, which I figured might happen when I wrote what I did. I also might have hit a sore spot with him and come across as "condescending" when I commented in my Smackdown report last week on his rapidly growing gut lately, too, but hey, it's a cosmetic business, and I'm hardly the only one commenting on that these days. He is at that age where keeping a flat belly is going to be tougher with the same diet and workout routine he had in his 20s. That's not condescending, it's true. I know first-hand!) Back to the current situation, though. My problem with Matt is that he keeps using himself as an example of why his generation is going to be okay. What gets to me is that these level-headed, intelligent, emotionally-stable wrestlers who are able to cope with all of the demands of pro wrestling and are still very young continue to talk as if their good fortune means everyone will experience the same good fortune, and it assumes that when they're the age of so many of these broken down wrestlers that they'll be fine, too. He is right that one night of partying on New Year's Eve hardly disqualifies him from defending what sounds like his overall healthy lifestyle. The problem Bischoff had was the timing of talking about the all-night partying, having a brother who has earned his consideration as a high-risk candidate over the years for problems, and continuing to say that because he and his friends are fine, nobody will have any problems. Nobody every said all wrestlers are vulnerable to all of the problems that the minority have had that has led to death or destitute. My problem is that the ones who are coping just fine (at still relatively young ages, so they can't really speak for the fortysomethings quite yet) don't seem to care that there might be others who can't handle the system as well as they do. I'd rather hear a wrestler from today in his 20s or 30s like Cena or Hardy acknowledge that some wrestlers fall through the cracks or some are more vulnerable and less fortunate than others, and that this generation is making an effort to look out for one another better than they did in the 1980s or 1990s. Instead, what I hear is that it's just not a problem anymore because "I'm doing fine and my friends are doing fine." Every wrestler who died had friends who were doing fine. But they didn't. The key isn't focusing on why we're better than wrestlers in the past, but what might still be wrong. And the lack of any mandatory semi-annual roster-wide (in rotation or all at once, either way) vacations of several weeks at a time, the lack of a good-faith even-handed transparent drug testing program, the lack of (until recently) any substantial attention paid to concussions and unprotected blunt chairshots to the head, and the lack of any sense that the industry is making efforts to look out for their own who don't make it means it's still not solved. I'm as surprised as anyone I'm on the Bischoff side of an argument (actually, not really, as I've found myself agreeing more with him lately in his blogs than I did with some things in his book or interviews he did when running WCW), especially one with Hardy, whom I actually largely respect as a true professional in his craft and an all-around good guy. I also can't editorialize about an industry full time and not ruffle most everyone's feathers at different times. I take as much heat from my critics on this very site as I dish out in my commentaries, but I think my twenty year track record has earned something more than the complete dismissal of my work as Hardy did with his comments. Sorry we disagree, Matt, but I'd never call you "a wrestler" (with quotes included to indicate you're not really a true wrestler) and I'd never in general write off your entire career of work just because you disagreed with me a few times. Adults disagree, but discuss specifics. Teenagers put quote marks around things and name call and use sweeping generations that are off-point when their feelings are hurt. (Okay, maybe that was a little condescending. Sorry.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Morris Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 It's amazing to watch how Wade Keller will one moment make a good point in addressing something Matt Hardy had to say, and then turn around and tell everyone just how nice he was to Matt for so long and now Matt is dissing him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Strange debate where everyone seems to be talking past one another. I would feel more comfortable if it was someone other than Eric trying to engage in a discussion with Matt on this topic. WCW in the Nitro Era was one of the great cesspools of partying and dope taking that the business has seen. One can take a look at some of Eric's glassy eyes, slurred speech promos from the era to draw a pretty reasonable conclusion that he wasn't the Virgin Mary. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 It's amazing to watch how Wade Keller will one moment make a good point in addressing something Matt Hardy had to say, and then turn around and tell everyone just how nice he was to Matt for so long and now Matt is dissing him. It's really no different than Dave Meltzer joking about how Eric Bischoff regularly talked with him while the sale of WCW went down, every time Bischoff takes a shot at Meltzer's journalism on his blog. That said, Wade did lay the sarcasm on a bit thick at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 I never would have guessed Wade was gay. Sure, he's not the picture of manliness or anything but it does surprise me. Good for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 That was certainly a thing, all of a sudden he's all "so yeah I'm gay and also we have a son now". I mean, good for him on both counts, but from a dude who was so intent on separating work and personal lives it was a surprising thing to read plastered on the internets. However, I do fear that any future criticism of Keller's writing ends up being labeled as gay bashing. Considering how discussion of pro wrestling online tends to go, you know it's going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 The oft-unacknowledged truth is that wrestling has a hell of a lot of homosexuals in it. It's a bizarre double standard; the actual workers who are gay tend to be closet types so as to avoid taking shit from the rest, but on the other hand you often end up with a whole lot of gay indy promoters, money marks, photographers, and apparently now website writers. (Between Ryder and now Keller, that's an awfully big fraction of the most prominent "journalists" in this field.) Hell, in Nashville alone, there were at least four different promoters who were well known as being out of the closet, some of them with reputations of being just a wee bit two predatory towards all their young employees with shiny muscles in tights. Meanwhile, I can only think of two wrestlers who worked that area who were openly gay, and one of them kept quiet about it and only his friends really knew. Obviously in terms of simple demographic probability there had to be more guys who liked guys in those rings, but whoever they are they hid it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 That was certainly a thing, all of a sudden he's all "so yeah I'm gay and also we have a son now". I mean, good for him on both counts, but from a dude who was so intent on separating work and personal lives it was a surprising thing to read plastered on the internets. Can you blame someone's head being all over the place after helping to bring a child into the world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 That was certainly a thing, all of a sudden he's all "so yeah I'm gay and also we have a son now". I mean, good for him on both counts, but from a dude who was so intent on separating work and personal lives it was a surprising thing to read plastered on the internets. However, I do fear that any future criticism of Keller's writing ends up being labeled as gay bashing. Considering how discussion of pro wrestling online tends to go, you know it's going to happen. I don't know that that's going to happen. Are people who disagree with me on message boards labeled as gay bashers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 It's odd that wrestling is a bit more open than most other sports. I've only come across two baseball players who were openly gay, and one of those after his cup of coffee career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 How did he announce this? Anyone able to copy/paste what he said? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 If you've noticed I've had a smaller than usual presence lately from doing Keller Audio Hotlines and other updates since Raw on Monday, I've been busy! I was becoming a father for the first time. There was great anticipation around here that he might arrive during WrestleMania (what a story that would have been), but he waited until Tuesday afternoon at 2:37 p.m. He "weighed in at" eight pounds, four ounces. After a few days at the hospital and a few days now at home trying to get settled and get some sleep, I'm now - admittedly with mixed feelings - taking the advice of some trusted friends and breaking this news (and all that it entails, obviously) today. I say mixed feelings only because I've made it a policy to keep my semi-public-figure status here at the Torch and my personal life separate over the years, although in all other facets of my life I'm very open about who I am and have been for many years. I apologize to the many (many!) of you who will certainly feel you deserved to hear this personally (and sooner!), but the list is long, so please don't feel singled out or offended. I hope you will understand, all things considered, that it's a complex decision to go public as I am and you eventually cross a line where you'd be okay with going public, which was years ago, but picking the right time never seems to come up. Right now it just feels right, and I wouldn't want Bowie, my son, to think I was ever ashamed of either who I was or our family, and it already feels with him five days old that I've waited five days too long to share him with all of you, many of whom have been important to me for so many years (in some cases decades!) either as personal friends I've gotten to know through the Torch or longtime acquaintances and customers, contributors, or associates via the Torch. I couldn't be more proud of Bowie so far, who has been just an absolute joy and gift to me, my partner of over nine years Cory, our first-time grandmothers who can't stop smiling these days, and the rest of our family. He's already the star of the neighborhood as we proudly show him off to neighbors on his two stroller rides so far. As for the basic logistics, we used an IVF procedure at a reputable local infertility clinic. We utilized an anonymous egg donor and transfered one embryo back in July to our gestational surrogate, who has no genetic connection to Bowie. Both Cory and I were in the room for the birth, cut the cord together, and moved Bowie to our room for the next few days. We were legally listed as his fathers on his birth certificate at the time of his birth. It's been a pretty smooth ride these first five days (although eight hour blocks of sleep are obviously out), and the reward already has been worth the 20 month journey from when we took the first steps to begin the process. Here are a few pictures... Day One all wrapped up! Proud dads and son at the hospital. Our favorite outfit so far. Another bundle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 I don't know that that's going to happen. Are people who disagree with me on message boards labeled as gay bashers? Not that I've seen, but then again, the only boards that we've both posted on (to my knowledge anyway) have usually been fairly level-headed places with a minimum of stupidity. But I do think Sek is probably right, I doubt it'll happen beyond the Wade superfans at the Torch boards, but it'll happen. That's the fun in the interweb, people take criticisim too personally and get carried away. You've experienced it yourself a bit, when dealing with Alvarez over Angle/Michaels. It's all over the place, if you criticise TNA then you're a blind WWE mark, if you criticise ROH then you 'don't understand real wrestling.' Hell, I've been called a piece of shit and worse for saying that I'm able to watch, and enjoy, Benoit matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 I don't know that that's going to happen. Are people who disagree with me on message boards labeled as gay bashers? To be fair, you're not likely to say half the things Keller does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Very cool for Wade and his family. Makes me feel old remember Wade back in college when I started reading the Torch. A lifetime ago. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 So which one is Wade? I've never seen a picture of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 Corrected: Right, black hair. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Keller: UFC fans and announcers pushing sport in dangerous direction Wade writing about MMA is always amusing. I can't believe he wrote this column without mentioning the fact that UFC gives out bonuses for fight of the night or only gives a boring fighter a title shot when their hand is forced. Seems like a salient point. It's funny too how there is no explicit criticism of Dana White who put pressure on Anderson Silva to have an exciting fight beforehand and ripped on him much more than the announcers did when he failed to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kronos Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 That was certainly a thing, all of a sudden he's all "so yeah I'm gay and also we have a son now". I mean, good for him on both counts, but from a dude who was so intent on separating work and personal lives it was a surprising thing to read plastered on the internets. However, I do fear that any future criticism of Keller's writing ends up being labeled as gay bashing. Considering how discussion of pro wrestling online tends to go, you know it's going to happen. I don't know that that's going to happen. Are people who disagree with me on message boards labeled as gay bashers? Random aside -- on a women's wrestling forum I frequent called Captured-Beauty, there's a massive percentage of active posters who are gay males. While a number of us are straight and there are a few women, I would guess that 50% of the most active are gay and open about it. It's probably why we are able to have more substantive discussions beyond simply "she's hot" or "she's got a great @$$" -- though of course those comments do happen. There also ends up being a little discussion on their hairstyles, ring gear, and shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Kinda on topic but has anyone heard the audio Wade posted from the infamous Bill Watts Torch Talk yet? Listening to the amount of vitrol in the closing comments about Lester Maddix, "Blacks" & "fags" is something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkeats Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Kinda on topic but has anyone heard the audio Wade posted from the infamous Bill Watts Torch Talk yet? Listening to the amount of vitrol in the closing comments about Lester Maddix, "Blacks" & "fags" is something else. I did. I have that annual that it came out in and as bad as it comes off in print, it's even worse when you can hear the inflection in his voice. I'm not going to judge the man either way because I don't know him but that rant was uncomfortable to listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 BREAKING NEWS: Apparently Sean Waltman has always thought Jericho was awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Could anyone who has a sub to the Torch site please print the article here which I think is titled "Least Favorite Wrestler" by Bruce Mitchell? It's about Tommy Dreamer and how much Mitchell thinks he sucks. It's probably from 2000 or 2001. My brother hates Dreamer and I want to show him that editorial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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