Maikeru

How anyone finds Strictly Come Dancing entertaining is beyond me. But admittedly a much larger proportion of the population would struggle to understand what I see in wrestling than would question my mum's love of Strictly. There are likely less than ten million people worldwide watching wrestling regularly. Should the industry be thankful that there are that many people willing to suspend disbelief for a fake sport? Or is the level of talent and sacrifice required from performers compared with other forms of arts and entertainment such that it's a travesty more people don't appreciate it?

Was at a convention in London a few years back and decided to pop into the Wetherspoons next door for lunch and pint. As it would turn out, so did Jim Ross, Typhoon, Papa Shango, Ron Simmons, and Demolition (who sat a few tables away). I happened to leave around the same time to go back to the venue next door, and overheard Ax ask the hotel reception for a cab to Heathrow in the morning. I had gotten a pic taken with Ax and Smash earlier in the day, plus an autograph afterwards when I told them enthusiastically that I'd come out just to see them. Ax was polite and asked how far I'd had to come..... felt a bit awkward answering "er.... South London". So after seeing them for a pic, then for an autograph, then in Wetherspoons, then at the hotel reception, I ran into them a fourth time when they were on their way out of the convention hall and stopped to check out a really impressive fan artist's work. I already was feeling a bit paranoid at this point that they'd think I was stalking them. I hurried to the lift after that to go up to the ground floor (convention was in the basement of the hotel). Just as the doors were about to close, in walks Jim Ross and........ Demolition. I pretended to be completely uninterested and kept my eyes fixed on my phone. In the process I inadvertently forgot to press the button for the ground floor, and ended up going to the 7th floor with the three of them, who then got out to head back to their rooms. I didn't lift my head once. I worked ring boy jobs here and there for a few promotions when I lived in Japan from '07 to '08. At a NOAH show in Kyoto we were setting up the ring a few hours before bell time and Kenta Kobashi walked in and started lifting weights right there in the venue hall. Chris Hero was lurking at the back of the crowd after his match at one of the other NOAH shows watching the rest of the bouts and came up to speak to me (curious as to what this white guy was doing checking tickets in a random Japanese city) - his opening line was "you don't look very Japanese!". I explained I'd gotten the gig via involvement in the local university pro wrestling society (yes those are a thing in Japan) and he was like..... "oh cool". He was a gent and best part of it was I got to ask him a burning question I'd had for ages that only a foreign wrestler in Japan could answer - "given few of the Japanese wrestlers speak much English, how do you communicate in the ring?". He had no issue breaking kayfabe in explaining that it's generally ok because most wrestling moves/sequences are intuitive, "just as long as you don't do anything complicated!" Taiyo Kea approached me for the same reason before an All Japan show I worked at in the same venue. Said his Japanese was still so-so after all his years there and that mine was probably better. Nice and humble bloke. Taru and Brother Yasshi (from Dragon Gate) are in all the time at a wrestling-themed pub in Kobe at which I was regular for the years I was there and still visit when I'm in the country. I once asked Taru to chop me and he had no hesitation in obliging. He let me reciprocate (I'd had about six pints by this point) and thankfully made it out in one piece. He told me he was returning to All Japan a few years ago (but it ended up falling through). Yasshi is a gent and pretends to be impressed watching me sing karaoke in Japanese. His family are in the gravestone making business and he plans to retire to that at some point.

Brian Elliot announced it in the penultimate issue delivered to subscribers today. That really sucks. I kinda assumed it had a viable enough niche to keep it going, especially after Powerslam went under and there was no homegrown competition to speak of (sales of the latter were down to about the 7k mark towards the end of its days, from a 20k peak in 2005 or so). Always enjoyed Lister and Alan4L's stuff in particular; Cornette's column also always taught me things I never knew. For those who say it's all online anyhow, sorry but where are you going to find a 6 page article on the history of Silvervision, that concentration of BritWres coverage and bios, as well as a ton of other interesting stuff tailored directly for the UK wrestling fan? I'm tired of all the click bait and top ten countdowns. End of an era after 15 years.