MungoChutney Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015  Possibly the most talked about wrestler in the UK right now. Definitely the most talked about, including in the mainstream, in Scotland.  It's hiself'..... Grado.  Was actually thinking of starting this thread a few weeks back until someone started one which was pretty much just a link to some YouTube footage from Grado's recent visit to North America, which in itself was quite the achievement for the plucky underdog from Stevenston in Ayrshire. My idea is to kick off a discussion about Grado and the genuine phenomenon that is Gradomania, mainly because despite the massive positive reactions wherever he goes, Grado can actually be quite a polarising figure on the BritWres scene. Let's start with the wrestling stuff.  Grado The Wrestler  I first saw Graeme Stevely wrestling on SWA shows in Bellshill over 10 years ago at a Survivor Series style show called Clan Wars where he wrestler under the name Grant Dunbar as part of the Lowlanders tag team with his 'brother' Glen. I vaguely remember that he teamed with Glen, Johnny Moss and someone else as part of Team SWA and I'm almost certain they were up against a team from 3CW that I think had Jayson Mason and Dan Evans on it. There's not too much I can recall from that match but fast forward 6-9 months and the Lowlanders are in the final of a tournament to crown the first ever SWA tag team champions. Their opponents were Adam Shame and Hatred, collectively known as Total Annihilation, and also part of the hell Sinners stable led by Majik. (Note: I'm pretty sure Majik had taken over the Sinners from Conscience by this point). It has to be noted at this point that the contrast between an SWA show in 2005/06 and an SWA, PBW, BCW, PWE show in the present day is significant. Basically, the match wasn't anywhere near the standard you'd see in 2015. Not that the crowd cared of course, they went batshit for the finish when the Lowlanders won the match and the belts.  I drifted in and out of going to shows over the next several years as work, social and then family commitments kicked in. Come June 2012 and I was attending my second ICW show, think the name was 'In Your Gaff' and all of a sudden there's Grant Dunbar wandering up and down the queue with a camera crew in tow and with the world gaudiest singlet with the word 'Grado' stamped across the front. Somehow I'd managed to miss the initial YouTube stuff but it was quickly followed up with this:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvNQFGK4ZK8 (Sorry, couldn't workout the embedding stuff!)  It was an instant hit with the ICW crowd and with me personally. The next month's show at the Garage saw Grado jump the barrier to help Drew McDonald who was getting a kicking from the heel OfCom stable. The reaction when Mark Dallas put Grado in to an impromptu match to team with Wolfgand and Drew was huge. So much so that the next months show had Grado going up against ICW champion Red Lightning and he only went and won the fucking belt! If the pop the previous month was big then this one was gargantuan as the entire crowd exploded with sheer and utter joy. The decision was reversed about 90 minutes later when it was shown on camera that Red Lightning's foot had been under the bottom rope when the 3 was counted but still, for those 90 minutes it seemed like Grado had done the impossible.  I have to be honest at this point and say that I thought that was pretty much that for Grado. I figured he'd still be a part of ICW but only in the odd midcard comedy match and backstage skits for their online shows. Even at the start of his feud with Mikey Whiplash I wasn't convinced he was any more than a flash in the pan, an opinion strengthened when fans reacted negatively to him changing his entrance theme for his match with Whiplash at that year's Fear and Loathing. Madonna was back the next month, and so was Grado. And he was back the month after that and the month after that and then he was in the other Scottish promotions and then he was booked in England and on and on it went as Gradomania erupted in a way that nothing else has in British wrestling for a long, long time. This of course, culminated in this year's TNA British Bootcamp and a main event match with Al Snow at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow this past January. More from me on this element at the end of the post but for now let's look at his other work.  Grado - The Celebrity Grado as 'Buster' in Scottish soap River City  There's an almost surreal feeling typing this part but Grado is now a 100% bona fide celebrity in Scotland. He's been on serious TV shows such as Scotland Tonight, he's got a semi-recurring part in River City, he's the face of advertising campaigns for Tennent's Lager and he's in the major national newspapers on an almost weekly basis. Surely there can't be another British wrestler to have achieved this sort of mainstream media attention since the World of Sport heyday? I find it incredible that it's gotten to this point and I don't think anyone from the ICW fanbase to Mark Dallas or even Grado himself saw it reaching quite the level that it has. People who know me and know that I'm in to my wrestling will actually go out of their way to ask me about Grado and where he's gonna be next. Mental.  What Other People Say Just in case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating about how well know Grado's become I thought I'd throw in a couple of quotes from people I know, none of whom are wrestling fans.  My Mum: "He's the only one of those daft bastards I can stand to watch on the tv."  My boss: "He's really entertaining, do you think we could hire him for the day." (We did btw)  Friend of mine; "Aye, he's mad him, I'd go to a show to see him but I'm not bothered about the rest of it."  Woman up the street: "I heard that Grado was on a wrestling show at the community centre, can't believe I missed it."  What I Say I love Grado, I think he's a fantastic act and I would absolutely consider him a key factor in the continuing success of ICW. I know some people don't like him, and not necessarily because he doesn't do 'movez', but because his style of wrestling doesn't appeal to them. That's fine with me because in my opinion wrestling is all about the mix of character and the mix of styles, the proverbial three ring circus if you will. I read an interview with Mike Whiplash where had said he liked Graeme Stevely but he didn't like Grado. His reasoning was that everything he had been taught about wrestling flew in the face of everything Grado represented. A fair point in many ways, and I'm a big fan of Mikey Whiplash's wrestling, but ultimately I don't agree with him. While it's obviously important that matches carry a degree of believability to help with the suspension of disbelief, it's also important that there are arses in seats to see the matches and in that sense Grado is enjoying unparalleled success because there's no doubt that as strong as Scottish wrestling is right now, he's still the number one draw.  Over to you guys. 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Paid Members herbie747 Posted March 24, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2015 Never found his shtick entertaining and reckon he's jumped the shark now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MungoChutney Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Never found his shtick entertaining and reckon he's jumped the shark now. Â Come on mate, took me ages to type that, any chance of a wee bit of argument so support your claim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WWFChilli Posted March 24, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2015 Nope, I agree, I think it's reached the level it's going to reach. I love the guy though, in person great bloke, and he's great at publicity, absolutely brilliant at it But I'm over it. I don't like his in-ring stuff no because he doesn't do moves. I don't like it because really in the ring he isn't that entertaining in general. As a local Scottish 'character', he'll do fine, maybe even become a household name; On actual wrestling shows he's essentially Adam Rose, but well likable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patiirc Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I think the shark jumped for me when he was on the 2nd ICW documentary. He is a very funny guy, posts/posted here, still, and does get it. Wrestling always has a place for a larger than life character and with Mad Man Manson gone there is a giant gap in the market. However, I just cannot get enthused by him at present. soz, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapnut Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Granted, I haven't seen enough of him, but from what I have seen I've just seen a fat annoying bloke with a shit accent. He's the type of cunt who sat at the back of the classroom in school and made shit jokes for an hour while 3 or 4 people laughed but the rest couldn't wait for him to get kicked out or for the class to finish. Â But yeah, maybe I've only seen his shit work and none of his good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krytie 2X4B 523P Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Love his entrance and I enjoyed his work. Watching the ICW Friday Night Fightclub series he's got a decent fued going with The 55 going which has potential. Grado is the reason I got into ICW after the first doc, and was one of the better parts of TNA Bootcamp.  That said, there are so many better, more interesting characters in ICW (Polo, Renfrew, Joe Hendry, Whiplash etc) thats he's no longer the reason I watch the product. I don't miss him when he's not on the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted March 24, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2015  Never found his shtick entertaining and reckon he's jumped the shark now.  Come on mate, took me ages to type that, any chance of a wee bit of argument so support your claim?  What "support" do you want? From what I've seen, I didn't like. Simple. I cracked a few smiles but got over it very quickly. Agree with the sentiments from WWFChilli, patiirc, and Slapnut too if that makes it any clearer. He reminds me of The Crankies - that type of goofy slapstick humour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winston Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Fair play to the guy, he's lived his dream. Being Scottish myself I understand his accent and get his jokes, but I was never sure how well that would translate in other places. Even England! But he's done great. I find all his stuff with Colt Cabana hilarious, definitely his best work. Â Such a shame Madonna nixed him using Like A Prayer. As far as in the ring goes, his entrance is his entire act and it took away so much from his appearances in TNA. Â Hope he continues to go along as he is right now though. Seems a genuinely nice guy who deserves nothing but the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted March 24, 2015 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2015 He seems really likeable from what I've seen, and it translates well to local wrestling shows. Â Can't see how it would work in the bigtime,he may find himself out of his depth -Â Â Â Â But I am up for being pleasantly surprised because I do really genuinely like the guy and he translates his charisma well in connecting with fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Benno Posted March 24, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hugely entertaining and massively over when I've seen him at ICW in Liverpool and at TNA in Manchester. Â I'm not sure making it in a "big time" wrestling organisation is the point with him, he's got his own thing going and seems to be getting his name out there in the papers and with work in TV outside of the usual wrestling places. Â If the stars aligned a Big Brother or an I'm a Celebrity appearance or something could have him being a bigger household name than UK Kat Von D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MungoChutney Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015   Never found his shtick entertaining and reckon he's jumped the shark now.  Come on mate, took me ages to type that, any chance of a wee bit of argument so support your claim?  What "support" do you want? From what I've seen, I didn't like. Simple. I cracked a few smiles but got over it very quickly. Agree with the sentiments from WWFChilli, patiirc, and Slapnut too if that makes it any clearer. He reminds me of The Crankies - that type of goofy slapstick humour.  I can understand why people wouldn't like or get the humour. I was more directing that comment at the idea of him jumping the shark. As far as I understand it, that would imply the character having done something in particular to become unbelievable or against the grain, and I can't think of anything with Grado that would suggest that is the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted March 24, 2015 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2015 Â I'm not sure making it in a "big time" wrestling organisation is the point with him, he's got his own thing going and seems to be getting his name out there in the papers and with work in TV outside of the usual wrestling places. Â Â Â Â Yeah, I think this is a totally fair statement. He seems to recognise that he's not destined to be that kinda guy, and is still using is celebrity really well to open whatever doors he can. And also, importantly, having a blast doing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krytie 2X4B 523P Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Â I'm not sure making it in a "big time" wrestling organisation is the point with him, he's got his own thing going and seems to be getting his name out there in the papers and with work in TV outside of the usual wrestling places. Â Â Â Â Yeah, I think this is a totally fair statement. He seems to recognise that he's not destined to be that kinda guy, and is still using is celebrity really well to open whatever doors he can. And also, importantly, having a blast doing it! Â Â He's better at being Colt Cabana than Colt Cabana is these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members martyngnr Posted March 24, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted March 24, 2015   I'm not sure making it in a "big time" wrestling organisation is the point with him, he's got his own thing going and seems to be getting his name out there in the papers and with work in TV outside of the usual wrestling places.     Yeah, I think this is a totally fair statement. He seems to recognise that he's not destined to be that kinda guy, and is still using is celebrity really well to open whatever doors he can. And also, importantly, having a blast doing it!   He's better at being Colt Cabana than Colt Cabana is these days  Well he isn't a total cunt so he beats Cabana hands down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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