Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Wrestling Six Packs: Things I'm Thankful For

Me and my most prolific podcast guest, whose patronage I am very thankful for!
Photo Credit: Sean McLaughlin
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and while gluttony and football are more the rule of the day, it was set aside so we could give thanks for things we have and are happy for. If this blog has taught you, the reader, anything about me, it's that I love wrestling and am generally happy being a fan of it. There are certain things I'm more thankful for in this crazy business than others. Here are six:

1. The Podcast and all its guests

I've reached out to a whole bunch of people to be on the show, and only four people couldn't make it on. Two of them were professional wrestlers, and two were writers who are massively busy dudes. I don't begrudge them anything. Why am I starting off with the negative? Well, it's because I've done, in total, 88 unique podcasts (both TWP and OTSC) with, in my estimation, 70 or so unique guests. To have only four not have their schedules work out to come on the show is mind-boggling. I'm a nobody, and nearly everyone has been nice enough not only to come on, but to be great interviews as well.

Among them have been cool people of all levels of notoriety, from cool fans of the blog like Dave Cunning and Samantha Allen to bigshot writers like Tom Breihan and David Shoemaker. That's not even to mention the people in the biz like Drew Cordeiro, Veda Scott, and Rachel Summerlyn (who's coming on again tonight!). A special thanks to the four guests I've probably asked the most of by having them on a bunch of times. First is Dylan Hales, who is way smarter and way funnier than both me and his lot as a wrestling personality online. Second is Brandon Stroud, who not only comes on the show, but takes time out of his own busy schedule to write reviews for me on this dinky little thing. The third is obviously Bryce Remsburg, because that guy is not only the coolest and nicest guy ever, but he's a great interview. Finally, I gotta shout out to K. Sawyer Paul, because he not only comes on every 20th episode and totally raises the bar of what the show can be, but he hosts the damn thing on his servers for kind words and a signed, solemn contract that says I shall not bash Canada or anything Canadian. I don't mean to sound all corny or mushy, but I really am a lucky dude.

2. Daniel Bryan et al. getting to be awesome on the biggest stage possible

Honestly, I'm not even sure this is real life. Bryan is short, pale, bearded, and an awesome technical wrestler. He's been able to keep all that, i.e. all the things that made us love him in the first place, and he added a layer of personality that he hinted at subtly in Ring of Honor and other places but didn't know ran THAT deep. He's not the only one. Antonio Cesaro is getting to hoss it up on a weekly basis. Austin Aries is the biggest swinging dick in Impact Wrestling. I know that they get "watered down" when they get to the big time, but at the same time, there has to be a goal for people in the industry more than having the best match. I'm glad that these guys are not only getting to make the big bucks, but I'm so thankful that the rest of the world gets to share in their awesomeness.

3. Chikara!

I missed the boat on ECW when I was in grade/high school. Blame it on my parents, blame it on me, BLAME IT ON THE RAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNNN, but the first time I went to the ECW Arena was when I was at Chikara's King of Trios Night 1 in 2009. So yeah, I'm EXTREMELY thankful that I got a second chance to get immersed in a largely local professional wrestling company, one that has given me so much over the last four years. I know they didn't run a lot in Philly this year for reasons out of their control, but I got to see sixteen shows in my hometown with a seventeenth coming up in two weeks. That's being spoiled, not just by the quantity, but by the quality too. I am so thankful for those experiences and more.

4. Smart Mark Video on Demand

If you said in 2009 that a company would provide independent wrestling cheaper and quicker than the current DVD market without any drop in video quality, I would have said "THAT'S VOODOO MAGIC! YOU'RE A WITCH! BURN HER AT THE STAKE!..." Wait, did I say 2009 or 1659? Oh, 2009? Okay. Well regardless, it's still pretty impressive. Seriously, I know this is such a first world thing to be happy about, but then again, the worst is ordering a DVD and waiting for weeks to get there. This cuts out the middleman. Super awesome.

5. Discovering new wrestlers on YouTube

There are always more matches out there to discover. Always. No matter how much wrestling you watch, there's always more. And I say feed me more. It's great when you find matches from guys you already know and like, but when you find a wrestler that you heretofore have never seen and are blown away by? That's an awesome feeling. I'm thankful that in 2012 I can still be utterly amazed by a guy on YouTube that I've never seen before. I also want to always be thankful for that feeling, because the day that no one left is out there to discover is going to be a sad, sad day.

6. All the intelligent people I discuss wrestling with on Twitter/the Blogosphere/message boards/Facebook/etc.

I remember I used to be way more cynical than I am today. I mean, I still am cynical to a point, but I'd like to think I'm more upbeat. A lot of the reason for the former cynicism was the crowd I was running with. It was almost like they didn't like wrestling at all. Now though, the people I surround myself with are all wrestling fans. They're not blind sheep, but they also have an underlying love for the artform, one that they can be both appreciative and critical of. I have learned so much about myself and about wrestling theory and analysis just by talking to people on here in an intelligent manner instead of one that always looked on the dark side of things. I can't be thankful enough for that paradigm shift.