Sunday, August 29, 2010

"Yeah We Sold Out... *clap* Every Seat in the Arena"

Sell out, with me aww yeah, sell out, with me tonightI don't like Tyler Black. In fact, I've made this point at least once before. I hate his promo skills. I don't like how he can't wrestle a good match without being led by the nose by Bryan Danielson or Nigel McGuinness. I don't like the praise heaped upon him by indie fans who don't share the same ideals as I do when it comes to wrestling analysis. However, there's one thing that I'll never hate on him for, and that's taking the money and running at the first chance he got to sign a WWE developmental deal.

So yeah, what do I see during the live Tweets from the ROH events in Richmond, VA Friday night and Charlotte, NC Saturday? Tyler Black gets greeted with "You sold out!" chants. Really? Well, disillusioned indie wrestling fans, I have two words for you.

Grow up.

That's right. You have no right to chant that at Black, or really anyone who gets the opportunity to make money at a higher level in the WWE or even TNA. Let me let you in on a not-very-well-kept secret. Pro wrestling is a fucked up business. These guys put their well-beings on the line every night, much to the ridicule of the mainstream sporting media for doing a "fake" sport, even though the damage they sustain from bumps, routine to dangerous, is real. Many of these guys bust their asses for pennies in bingo halls and VFWs for the dream of one day making it big in this field they love so much. It's one thing to wrestle for the love of the game and the adulation of the fans, but in wrestling moreso than any other entertainment media, you get as much money as you can.

As much as Black would love to keep wrestling for a couple hundred dollars a night with no certainty as to the solvency of the companies he's working for, a guaranteed paycheck with perhaps the only sure thing in all pro wrestling is something he'd be a fucking idiot to pass up. How dare you belittle him for that? How selfish can you be to demean a man who is pursuing a dream (and really, who gets into pro wrestling because it's something they fell into with the exception of maybe second-and-third generation wrestlers?) because he won't be able to do MOVEZ~! on a regular basis anymore? Fuck that. Why wouldn't Black want to get a steady paycheck?

Look, I get that Tyler Black's fans are bummed that he won't be around to work with more artistic freedom. I get that they're disappointed they won't be able to see him in ROH or AIW anymore. I get that the WWE isn't for everyone, and that Black going there constitutes a departure of the Black they knew from the wrestling industry that they follow. I get that. But if you're truly a fan of Tyler Black, you'd be happy for him that he's making money now, not pissed at him for not conforming to your selfish whims.

In other words, grow up.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!