AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
Well, so how was YOUR week?
In the last week, I've felt an earthquake and went through a hurricane. Somehow as I write the last words of this on Monday morning, I've avoided flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch (then again, I AM watching RAW tonight...) to make the week complete.
It seems strange that I've traveled to San Francisco five different times, including weeks after the 1989 earthquake...yet have never felt anything worse than fog in San Francisco. I've walked down their Market Street dozens of times...yet felt an earthquake for the first time while sitting in my office in Market Street in Philadelphia.
Then there was Irene. I hope many of you reading this on the East Coast are safe, and have at worst suffered minimal damage or disruption. Other than scaring the shit out of me in anticipation...only very minimal effect in my part of South Jersey. There were floods in the usual areas around the Philadelphia region, but many areas seem to be getting back to normal...or at worst, have started cleaning up the effects. I was very lucky that the only thing happening to my neighborhood was a disruption in cable/internet/phone service for 12 hours.
Meanwhile there the saga of who's Sin Cara? As of Sunday night, it may be Hunico and not the real person set to play the role, Mistico. There have been all sorts of "Botch-a-mania" jokes about Mistico as Sin Cara. Funny how that never happened in AAA.
Wonder why? Could it have been the fact that WWE asked Mistico to work WWE style, and not the lucha style that made him the best draw in years in Mexico? Put it this way...in his prime, would a promoter bring in Abdullah The Butcher and ask him to do chain wrestling? Nah. Yet there seems to be this thing about "WWE style" wrestling....and Vince McMahon demanding it Read Chris Jericho's most recent book to get a better sense of that mind set.
Someone needs to explain to Vince that the circus has animal acts, trapeze artists, and all sorts of acts...not just one act, and all acts are not all done exactly the same way. He might look at that for WWE. Might help those sub 3.0 ratings.
As for just sticking someone else under the hood, does WWE honestly think that when they go to Mexico, that Mexicans won't know that SinCara isn't the Mistico they saw for several years in AAA, and that they will go ahead and buy tickets and be loyal litle sheep? They may explain why WWE won't release Mistico, as of the moment. But I'd be willing to bet that Super Luchas and the other media sources in Mexico (which aren't WWE-controlled and WWE can't find a way to control) won;t play ball. In fact, I have to wonder if they would make a issue of pointing it out, so as to take a shot at WWE.
In Philadelphia independent news, September 10 features CZW's Chris Ca$h Memorial Show featuring the Title versus Title match of CZW's Ultraviolent Undergound Champion Masada taking on Big Japan Wrestling Deathmatch Champion Ryuji Ito.
November features the Dragon Gate USA/Combat Zone Wrestling doubleheader on November 12, with Dragon Gate USA starting at 5:30 pm and Combat Zone Wrestling at a scheduled 8:30 pm belltime; followed by CHIKARA Pro Wrestling returning the next afternoon November 13 with a 4:00 pm belltime. Then the first weekend in December is already looking to have one of the hottest Philadelphia wrestling weekends in recent memory as CHIKARA will present a weekend entitled JOSHIMANIA, with Friday, December 2, taking place at the Arena in South Philadelphia featuuing Joshi legends Aja Kong and Manami Toyota, as well as talent from Japanese women's promotions Osaka Women's Pro, JWP, Sendai Girls, WAVE and Union Pro. CZW's annual Cage of Death will be held the next night on Saturday, December 3 (not the usual second Saturday date)
Wanted to include this little blurb again about Michael Morrice, a brave 13 year old from the UK, who is awaiting a kidney transplant. Michael is currently undergoing dialysis.
If any readers within the business (indies, WWE, TNA, puroresu, or lucha promoters or workers or even staff) or even fans... who would be willing to send a key chain or pen from the country in which they live... or just plain good wishes, please contact Michael and his mom, Sylvia, via Michael Morrice Transplant Support Facebook page. This isn't one of those chain deals....he's a real kid (who happens, as it turns out, to share my birthday)...not a mysterious someone looking to get some magic number of Facebook friends. He's just a 13 year old wrestling fan, with a mom who loves him, and who asked Petey for help. I thought I'd pass it on to all of you...
Some of you have already sent him good wishes, and many other things...if some more of you can be moved to do so, it'd be appreciated.
Until next time...
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