Accident Prone

There was an episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks where Louis Walsh was a contestant and got grilled by Mark Lemar for repping Westlife. I haven't seen it in decades but whenever I hear "Westlife" the interaction pops into my head and I smile. It goes something like; Mark: Westlife....aren't very good, are they? Louis: They've sold a lot of records. Mark: Name one good Westlife song. - Louis hesitates and stutters - Mark: Ah.....

Yesterday's PAC news completely stunned me, I am still in shock now. I first saw PAC live in 2007 for Anti-Watershed Wrestling (fucking hell) at the Irish Centre in Birmingham, a super tiny venue, after seeing his incredible breakthrough matches in his 2006 PWG stint. Me and my brother bowed to him during his ring entrance, because we were young and destined to be virgins forever, a destiny we avoided now that we have at least one child each. He did a flip off the 2nd rope during his entrance, his foot caught the ceiling & it brought down all the Irish flag bunting. The ring and ringisde was littered with tiny Irish flags. He still did a shooting star press & a flippy-doo plancha during the match, he was not put off by that experience at all. He made sure to give the fans everything, which is a key quality that I look for from a wrestler even to this day. I was a huge PAC fan before, and then a mega fan after that. I saw him live for the same promotion a few months later, and he was great again, and this time I knew he was scheduled to be at PWG that weekend so I wanted to wish him luck (and show off my big brainy smart mark head, please see the previous virgin allegations), and I saw him sneak out in a hoody straight after his match, carrying his bag and through the front door, likely heading straight for the airport. He did a moonsault plancha in that match, in that same low-ceiling building, fucking effortlessly. Looking back, I think that was the last time I caught him in action live. I still went on to follow him everywhere; the US indies, the trek to Japan, his mainstream run, the return back to the UK, and his excursion to the big leagues again. Every single time he knocked it out of the park and looked fantastic doing it. The name "PAC" would sell me on a show, instantly. There was never a bad day for PAC the wrestler, because even on his personal bad days he still put in a shift to make sure that fans were happy. There's a stacked PWG match on a stacked PWG card from 2009 where he was battling an illness and getting sick under the ring, and you wouldn't know unless you were told the dirty details afterwards. PAC was the opposite to the Kevin Nash's of the wrestling world with their "We've already got their money!" shitarse philosophy. PAC was someone who valued the time, money and personal investment that fans poured in, week in and week out. My kind of professional wrestler, and my kind of human being. After work yesterday, I headed back home after picking up my son from school. He's five now and he's come to see wrestling on the telly as some sort of threat. "I'll put Dad's Boring Wrestling on!" is a common key phrase for getting him to tidy up or brush his teeth or stop jumping on my ribs. I've not watched any wrestling for the past year, but I had to change that yesterday, I just had to take some time and relish what we had in PAC. You type in "PAC vs..." into YouTube and the first result is always vs Orange Cassidy at AEW Revolution 2020. My son ALWAYS, without fail, loses interest in wrestling within a minute or so, and I thank the sweet lord for that. This one though, was different. He only lost interest a FEW minutes into the match, which is a massive compliment to both PAC and OC. He enjoyed the pockets schtick from OC, and PAC was a clearly defined snarling evil bad guy that he could root against. He swung back in though for the moment that everyone goes back to with this match; OC constantly rolling out of the way of PAC's aerial attack. My son laughed giddly, the same laugh he saves for dopey cartoon prat falls. Ten minutes later, I'm with the wife doing the pre-dinner prep, and my son stands on the arm of the sofa and falls backwards onto the cushions. "Dad, you've got to jump on me!" he says, and points to the arm of the sofa. I get up and perch and he rolls out of the way, all the way across the living room to the far wall. I make an angry face, climb up on a nearby arm chair, do the universal hand sign for "FLIPPY DOO" and he rolls all the way back to the other side of the room, giggling like a maniac. We now have a new game for the repertoire, one that maybe my son will play with his kids if he decides to have them. How does one man, a wrestler from the non-American parts of England, get to this status without being a cunt? The world is worse for no longer having him, but we can rebound if people pick up on his qualities, both professionally and personally. Thanks for the memories PAC, you will not be forgotten. You will be celebrated, in ways that you probably never knew.

Democracy works. What a victory!

I joined in November 2012 but I was a lurker for years before that. I was a regular on other forums but I still had an intimidating first few years. Getting scolded for using the term "move set", defending Kyle O'Reilly vs Davey Richards GIFs, making the case for the indie scene needing more WRESTLING on its shows (I still stand by all these opinions, stubbornly yet rightfully). Then I got swept up in the community and the personalities and the people and their stories, by God their stories, and it became more than just another wrestling forum. Its a place for advice, for warmth, for comfort, for passing the time gleefully. I don't get to post much these days, due to work. When I started posting here I was a retail worker at Staples, had been living with my girlfriend at the time for 6 months after dating for a year, and I would post whilst bored in the in-house tech repair centre. In 2014 I left Staples for an office job and my posting greatly increased. In 2015 I was on here asking for advice about engagement rings, advice that I followed and was successful with. In 2018 I was in here asking for advice on wedding planning and then subsequently ranting about the wedding planning (we went through four chefs and three wedding planners if I recall correctly because the venue kept overhauling its staff, meaning we had to start from scratch every single time). 2020-2022 was a forum whirlwind due to working from home! So many hours lovingly wasted on this place. And all that is without posting about all the wrestling I was watching at the time! Fucking hell, this is a WRESTLING forum, I always forget that when I log in these days. I've always seen the UKFF as a pro-Fed stronghold, so it was always delightful during my 2010's all-singing, all-dancing wrestling pomp to get into some back-and-forth with the regulars (and I'm still stubbornly and rightfully correct). All the joys of breaking down the PPVs, the telly, the past, the present, the live reports, the untimely and timely deaths, the fun retrospectives and think pieces. It doesn't get said enough because Off-Topic became the true artisans resort, but On-Topic was, for the most part, equally as well thought out and fun to be around. In 2021, I had a son and there went my posting at home. In 2022 I got promoted and there went my posting at work. In 2026 I gave up wrestling for a year (cheeky plug to my article detailing that choice here, if you fancy it), and there went my browsing of On-Topic. I only found about this thread from the Paido Tory corner. So in the last five years I've gone back into mainly a lurker, only posting in Off-Topic when I get precious WFH days, like today. I still read up on Off-Topic when I can, but the joy of being an active part of this community is rare. And thats what this place is, at the heart and arse of it, a community. Seeing all the usernames gradually grow into adults with careers, homes, other pastimes other than wrestling, partners, children, fame, infamy, adult problems, adult advice, the unfortunate passing away of forum members, this is it, the human life cycle contained in a fucking wrestling forum. I am so tied to this place that I don't think a day goes by where some UKFF in-joke or reference doesn't pop into my life. Every time I go past a Bensons For Beds I laugh, I can't help it. In fact I ear marked something I saw on Sunday that reminded me of here so that I can post it in the "Things That Remind You Of The UKFF" thread at some point. It's in my blood, they'll need to write "UKFF" on the bag when I donate. I've gone from lurking and single to going through half a life cycle on here; childless to father, single to husband, fully flexible to fucked-my-back-completely. I could go back through my post history and piece together most of my 20s and 30s. I'll live that in my will for my kids to go through. You're all fantastic, even the one poster that I have blocked I'm sure is a lovely person in real life when he isn't shouting abuse at the wrestlers at live shows. Even the wrong'uns, I hope your're smiling today in your jail cells and smelly mattresses. And I am still stubborn, and ultimately, correct. Here's to another 25 years.