uklaw

I’ll be damned if I’m not actually really looking forward to this. The build has, in my opinion, been the best to any TNA/Impact event since Angle vs Joe for Lockdown 2008 (even factoring in the sense of anticipation and attempted mystery built into the hype of Bound For Glory 10/10/10).

And unlike previous shows which looked good but were then blighted by underwhelming matches, and often booked poorly and illogically, there appears to be a trust in this current regime (from the build, to the production and even the choice of venue) that this show will be very good, if not excellent. 

6 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Oops, turned it off after the WWE Title Match - didn’t realise there was more!

Exactly what I did 🙈

I’ll have to find time to catch up (unless it’s deemed not to be worth it).

1 hour ago, elisarcabrera said:

Yes it was.

I brought a TV crew to both ONE and NS1. One was a trial run with 2 cameras - we edited a promo video from the footage. NS1 was filmed properly with 3 and edited a one hour pilot.  I did have the pilot and promo on VHS but sadly both were lost in a storage fire along with all my FWA tapes.

That’s a shame. Not even from the perspective of any fans wanting to see it but from your perspective as it was such a part of your career, and as it turned out, so pivotal. 

As for the promo, I saw that. I purchased Wrasslin’ TV 2 on VHS yonks ago from John Feltham and (the late) Dwayne (sp?) Faulkner and the promo opened it up. 

It was a heck of a promo.

Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t Jimmy Havoc and Zack Sabre Jr from the ‘last/latter’ class of Hammerlock?

In any event, my introduction to British Wrestling as a thing was Hammerlock in the summer of 1998 (complete with Dean Ayass on the hotline). I can’t recall how I found out but I became aware of Jonny Storm and Jody Fleisch leaving Hammerlock and after all the raves they got in the summer, I was keen to find out what they were going to do. 

In the February of 1999 I found out about the ‘Fratton Wrestling Association’ putting a show on with the both of them competing. And the rest, as they say, is history...

Sometime between FWA ONE and No Surprises that year, the Association became Frontier Wrestling Alliance and people started to join, such as Alex Shane and ‘Leon Murphy/Guy Thunder’. If memory serves me, wasn’t No Surprises run and filmed as a ‘TV taping’? I’d be curious to know what happened to that footage?

In these days of nostalgia and restoration, a thread like this (and any social media equivalent) would invariably lead to a clamour to revive the subject in question.

But dare I say the FWA is in such a unique position in history and it seems to be accepted that the company was so of its time (even when also accepted it was ahead of its time) and the scene is so different now that it would be very difficult to bring it back again. 

It can be argued that perhaps the 2009 revival proved that. Even though I admit I quite enjoyed it until the Hope and Glory show with the Patrick Lennon video. Then it fell off, never to recover.

The current tapings are from St Claire College, in Windsor, Ontario in front of a paying crowd. Rather than the studio in a theme park that was open to anyone who was in the park at that time. 

I recall a recent interview where Josh Matthews said they don’t plan to go back to Universal anytime soon, and as such the block of tapings after Slammiversay will be at the Rebel Complex in Toronto (same place as the pay per view). I believe they are back there in August and a recent announcement by another company suggests they will try their hand at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas in November.

I discovered all of the My TV episodes online about 6-8 months ago and watched them all over a few days. First time I’d seen them since the time I got more or less the whole lot in 2001-2.

Genuinely a very good, logical show with action that was good at the time (and some of it stands up today). And the production was revolutionary given the scale and locality of the series. The music, scenes and segments were really well produced. I got a real kick out of the segments Alex Shane did with his bodyguards (who were given actual personalities as well as names a la Reservoir Dogs) and the genesis of the Old School vs New School storyline featuring the introduction of Dino Scarlo and his (at the time) frightening ‘vulgar display’ when he brutalised Ian Da Silva and was thrown out by the rest of the roster for being unsuitable for television. 

I won’t say too much more in case anyone unfamiliar with the series wants to watch on the link Ian has provided but at 20+ minutes a go, it’s worth a watch and an example of how far ahead the FWA was in several aspects from the rest of the scene as it was back then. 

In a large way it actually served as a lead-in to Revival. 

A lot of the credit goes to Elisar Cabrera, Alan Boon/Mark Priest (Linus on here, I think?) and Dino Scarlo for Writing the series and not tinkering with continuity as well.

Indeed. The FWA remains my all-time favourite U.K. company. I followed it from FWA One back in 1999 (from a distance) through the very good south coast TV series from 2001-2002 to Revival through the expansion and excellen 2nd version of the TV show to the cool-off, demise and rebirth, etc.

The UK scene is a very different place now, so it’s great that this thread has been unearthed, to remind myself-and by Elisa Cabrera (one of the founding fathers of the original group) no less.

I’ve always had a soft (or otherwise) spot for Victoria Summers, Jasmine Webb and more recently Alexxa Vice. 

Oh yes, and Ella Hughes (who seems to have been well received in America, doing such a steady amount of work I wonder if she’s moved there?).

Of course that’s just me, our eyes react to different things.

In a ‘the-timing-was-obviously-coincidental’ moment, Stormy Daniels has done a scene for Brazzers with Kieran Lee. I think it’s her first scene in a few years?

It was what it was. 

I believe Michael Cole scouts, recruits and produces the announcers. I remember when Nigel McGuinness and Mauro Ranallo joined, I think they both said it was Michael Cole that made the call and the pitch.

I’ve been impressed with how the shows have been put together and even with some of its craziness (see Darby Allin, Callihan, Joey Janela, et al), it can just about get away with its sports presentation. Only just, though. 

Until confirmed otherwise, and as good a job as has been done with the brand, ultimately I still think Vince will decide to put the match on the 2 hour pre-show (even though it appears the main card will be at least 5 Hours). 

3 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Is Lashley still with TNA? Were there not rumours he was heading back to the land of milk and honey?

Unless there is a backstage segment to tie things up, the match with Cage, I believe, was Lashley’s last with the company. IIRC, he more or less said goodbye to the fans/took a bow after the cameras stopped rolling on the match.

https://pwinsider.com/article/115978/mlw-taping-television-tonight.html?p=1

Possibly one to keep an eye out on?

Don’t say this too loud, folks, (and I’m likely the only one who feels this way) but after a ropey first couple of weeks, I'm quite enjoying Jonathan Coachman on commentary this time around. He’s assured, adds an ever so slightly different (maybe sportscaster-type?) perspective. Plus he isn’t afraid to challenge Corey Graves and Michael Cole’s calls. And it makes me laugh seeing them struggle to mock him the same way they did (and still do) Booker T and Byron Saxton.

One observation, though, and that his call can be at odds with the ‘story’ Cole and Graves are trying to tell. I cite the Sasha Banks/Bailey moment. 

Spud is my guess as well.

Plus, this has probably already been said but with the exits of Aries, Neville and now Enzo (arguably the 3 highest profile cruiserweights ) and the introduction of a specific 205 Live GM, I wouldn’t be surprised if we hardly see the cruiserweights on RAW anymore.

After the Mecca debacle and about 2/3 of the posters moving over to Asylum, the place has settled and gone about it’s ‘it’s great, everything else is bad’ way, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. 

Well, the mood has changed and it took (and I kid you not) Ring Of Honor’s Final Battle 2017 being the good show it was (and being received as such) for many of the posters to realise that Impact isn’t as great as they think it is.

That’s in terms of presentation, operations, crowds, wrestling, etc.

3 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

I think it's one guy writing the shows then I imagine Triple H and a few of the agents and trainers review and approve/change things up as required.

This pretty much, according to what I’ve read.

Like a microcosm of the main roster, Triple H is the main ‘shot-caller’ (as it were) and the Head (TV) Writer is called Joe Belcastro. An article I read describes him as a lifelong Wrestling fan and fomer film critic, and features writer for the Tampa Tribune, who joined WWE’s team in 2013, 5 years after originally failing at an interview straight out of college/university. 

If Belcastro wasn’t a mature student then that’s the 2nd young (Wrestling fan) writer Triple H put as head of NXT creative, following on Ryan Ward. Well, third if you count Stephen Guerrieri, who doesn’t seem like a veteran either (though I think he may be considered the weakest of the 3).

That last part might mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. 

4 minutes ago, Wrasslin said:

Right. So the conversation went as well as can be expected. He's kind of said he's OK with it. (Helped by the fact I think he's really into a new girl).

So now I just have to try and make this work.

All the best man. Hope it works out and hope your mate can grow to accept it, even if things trail off with his new lady.

I thought it was bad enough when things ended with me and my ex. We already had tickets to a show so we decided to honour the arrangement. Went to see the show on a cold February evening. Awkward wasn’t the word that night. The last time I saw her. It’s been nearly 2 years.

After reading the last few pages of the thread, I have no more basis for complaint.

I second that post. Growing up, I too, didn’t see myself as much cop and as a result, it manifested itself in a bitter, awkward guy who couldn’t talk to women or get past being the doorway to my ‘more confident, more charismatic friends’.

When I started to see myself as having more worth, change started to happen.

As you may have seen over the months, after a fortuitous e-mail came from the dating app that, revealing I still had an active profile, leading me to meet a lady, we have spent the past couple of months getting to know each other and last weekend we officially became an exclusive couple. She’s more than I ever imagined so I’m still pinching myself. Plus, and this party goes back to what Juan demonstrated, she likes me for being me. All the characteristics and attributes that I’d believed made me a wet blanket to others are the exact qualities she likes in me. 

I wish you well Juan. Yours has the hallmarks of a victory. If not with this lady then one equally or even more special.

Bit of an update:

After tapping out of the online dating scene in the Spring, a tad disillusioned from 8 months of rejection and a bit poorer, I received an e-mail at the end of July from the app I was using that I found odd as I thought I had deleted my profile. Turns out I had merely logged out while busy and removed the app from my screen.

Anyway, having downloaded said app to investigate the source of the e-mail, I find a few expired matches and general inactivity. Not surprising. A bit of ‘in the moment swiping’ and decided I was wasting my time and removed the app, this time aware my profile still existed. 

A day later and curiousity led to the app being back on my phone. A few fresh matches appeared but none I found particularly appealing. See, us guys online can be selective as well. 

But just as I was about to delete for another day, this one match appeared... long story short, we’ve just had our 3rd date and I may be onto a good thing. Watch this space. 

Just hoping my experiences-induced insecurities don’t re-emerge.

On 09/09/2017 at 1:32 PM, PunkStep said:

They end up booking a shitload of imports anyway, don't they? So I'd imagine they just do the same this time, probably with even more imports. Most Americans won't care about 5 Star upsetting the BritWres scene if they're getting a good payday.

I think more (known) wrestlers will give this a swerve, TV or not. Whether due to TV/broadcast contracts elsewhere (though I think the WOS contracts may have ended by then?), how much they can make doing other, stable bookings or just because of the 5* experience so far. 

I think on that basis, you'll get less experienced or polished British and Irish wrestlers looking for a payday or their face on TV, who will be deemed unsuitable for significant shine. And and an (over) abundance of imports who will then be put over these wrestlers as they are 'more experienced' and 'the stars that sell the tickets'.

In "shows how much I know" news, it's been reported that Spud is engaged to Mae Young Classic competitor Renee Michelle. Of course, I didn't know they were an item- or indeed who she was before the tournament but congrats to them.