The Return of Shadows

To the few of you whom actually ever read this blog, I proudly announce my intention to at least periodically update- as most if not all of you are aware, 2009 wasnt exactly the most stellar year of my life, and blogging about pretty much anything seemed kinda minute in comparsion to the major life altering circumstances I faced every day. But, life does in fact go on and does in fact get better-therefore, I return to share with tyou observations,commentary, and corny jokes & stories. I hope you enjoy!

Unfortunately, the main piece of news in the last 24 hours, at least in the world of wrestling, is the untimely death of Edward "Umaga" Fatu at the age of 36.

Umaga was, in my estimation, the best "working" member of the long and storied Anoai wrestling family, which has produced such stalwarts as Samu ( who was tremendous in his youth) Tonga Kid/Tama ( another fine talent) Rikishi ( probably the most famous) Manu ( the youngest to date) & Rosey ( an underrated big man)

Unfortunately, Umaga's personal demons led to his WWE release this past summer, when he was slated to return to the main events in a proposed series of bouts with The Undertaker.

Edward left behind a wife a 6 children. WWE is reportedly assisting the family with funeral arrangements, since they will be on tour in Texas this coming week & many on the crew were close with Edward, and want to attend all services.
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I'm pleased as punch to see my friend Drew Hankinson (aka Festus) once again on WWE programming, now redubbed "Luke Gallows" as the bodyguard of the straight edge former WWE champion CM Punk.

I have known Drew since he was a teenager, and his love and ambition to be a WWE star was obvious from the first time he performed on one of my events, circa 2003. At 6'6 and 300 lbs, the man has had the tools to be a player in the former Fed for years, but has of yet to receive much beyond a preliminary level shove. I hope this is the career break he has worked his ass off for, for his good and the good of an organization in dire need of fresh young talent to carry them for the next 10 years.
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I'd like to take a few minutes to comment on a few things that people have been mentioning to me for the past few weeks: Ric flair returning to the ring and Hulk Hogan's involvement in TNA.

First of all, the sendoff that Ric Flair received at Wrestlemania back in March 2008 was, without a doubt, the most emotional & heartfelt goodbye ever received in the the history of the professional wrestling business. In a world where people are chewed up and spit out as standard fare, the "Nature Boy" finally received his just due as the single greatest wrestler who ever laced up the boots.

It all sounded nice, but the reality is Ric Flair can only be Ric Flair one place, the world which made him famous, and that is in the ring. So when the announcement came a few months back that The 16 time World champion would be coming out of retirement to face his legendary arch nemesis, Hulk Hogan (more on him in a few) many people seemed to resent that Flair would even consider such a thing,much less with Hogan.

A few thoughts : 1) pro wrestling is not a real sport, its a performance. Obviously, pro wrestlers are athletes, but it shouldnt exactly be earth shattering to this readership that the won/loss records of wrestlers arent exactly varifiable.

2) With nearly $22,000 PER MONTH in alimony and divorce settlements, Mr Flair cannot AFFORD to continue to appear in high school gyms in rural North Carolina, at trade fairs,and doing low to mid level endorsements ( his new lottery ticket notwithstanding)

3) as fans, do we have the right to tell a grown man he cannot return to his profession and earn a living, just because we felt so emotional when he left the first time? Would we feel the same towards a guy who retired from his plant after years of hard work and service, who then returned to the workforce due to need or boredom? Or because he missed the comraderie or the lifestyle?

I regard all these as Flairs personal choices- And I regard the recent Hogan vs Flair series in Australia much akin to watching an "Old Timers Game" or Jack Nicklaus vs. Arnold Palmer play 18 holes on sunday afternoon with CBS covering the action. Maybe they arent what they were, but they still have something special, and most people will still gladly watch them do there thing.

Onto the Hulkster....

Hogans coming on board with TNA to, as he describes it, "run the show" in Orlando will end up one of two ways: Hogan bringing a more prominent presence to the Second biggest promotion in the United States, or once again proving the Hulk's well known reputation for "smelling a mark" and running with their money.

On thing I'm convinced of, however, is that once Hogan is entrenched in the television aspects of the group, is that it will certainly resemble a "wrestling" program again. if you watch TNA (which I only do periodically) its plan to see that the show is very over-wrote and under- thought. Seriously, if there is one thing in wrestling that is overrated, its "creativity". The same basic formula has basically worked for years, and tampering with that formula has proven disasterous for many groups, yet instead of focusing on basics and good storytelling, TNA always reaches for the most ludicrous and assinine in hopes of garning "water cooler talk". Thats a recipe that only leads to disaster.

No matter where the focus lies with Hogan at the helm ( at it will be on him) I at least anticipate a reformatted tv show that resembles what wrestling should be, and I for one will be tuned in, at least initially, to see what direction it all goes- and if i'm wrong, I'll gladly admit to being too optimistic in my assessment.
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And finally folks,with the snow falling outside, I'm reminded of a night, almost 6 years ago to the day, that we had scheduled an event in Keyser,Wv. We scheduled a Battle Royale ( always one of our good draws) and had about 16 wrestlers coming in, all in pursuit of the "$5,000 prize" that was to go to the winner. Weather conditions were snowy, slick and dangerous, but my partner was insistent we have the event because, according to him, "advance sales have been very strong". I managed to get to the town & low and behold, only about half the crew had arrived, and in due time, the rest would call me to cancel due to the conditions. We reworked the nights matches to cover the missing performers, and I got dressed for my match later that night.
We had inserted an in ring interview to eat up a little time & build up one of the rescheduled matches. My opponent was in the ring talking, and when my cue came, I burst thru the curtain, expecting my usual fan favorite reaction. I wasnt disappointed- I was very warmly received by the crowd on hand- unfortunately, the "crowd" consisted of 4 paying customers, 2 of my kids, the ring crew,and the wife of the referee! Needless to say, it would be the last time we didnt cancel due to inclimate weather ( which is EXACTLY what I did earlier, when I heard 2-4 inches of snow would be falling in Moorefield,Wv, 30 minutes south of Keyser)

Take Care All- feel free to leave a post!
SSS