E STE
L
CH
M AIR
A
O G.C
WW
M
// IM S O W / / T X // N W P J N / / H O R E //
G N I L T S WRE
PA
ND U O R G R E D N U CT // LUCHA
// ISSUE 2 8 1 0 2 T S AUGU
2 // 4.99
V E S RU
JEFF Y D R A H
D O O DASHW
L A C O S VAL
E L L I N TE SCAN TO ORDER IN PRINT
R E P VI
"WOS is a Labour of Love"
IJ MMY S B O C JA
ERN WWE FAN US MOD THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING - CHRIS BROOKES // THE OBLIVIOMARCH 2018 VULTUREHOUND 43
m o c . g a M r i a S t eel Ch Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more from SteelChair Magazine. Click here to visit the channel
WELCOME
WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR
his issue’s cover star is ROH’s Tenille Dashwood who has gone from strength to strength since she left WWE. We got the chance to have a chat with her and also look at her best matches post-WWE.
T
With the announcements of both NXT UK and a new series World of Sport, we look at why this will benefit us all. It really is Rusev Day (when you read this at least), as we got to chat to the man himself, on Rusev Day.
The “flippy guy” Will Ospreay, you either love him or hate him, like M... Mr. T. This issue, we want you to pick your side. In Impact Wrestling, Jimmy Jacobs is a manager, backstage agent, creative and wrestler, and we got the chance to chat to him about all his positions and how he’s enjoying his new found freedom. We also have a look at Chris Brookes, a Minoru Suzuki retrospective, a Heel Turn column and chat with Jeff Hardy and SoCal Val.
DAVID GARLICK @davidgarlick
Copyright 2018 SteelChair Magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of SteelChair Magazine. Requests for permission should be directed to: info@steelchairmag.com.
EDITORIAL DAVID GARLICK EDITOR / DESIGN david@vulturehound.com
JOZEF RACZKA FEATURES EDITOR BRADLEY TIERNAN + JAMES TOAL REVIEW EDITORS LEE HAZELL COPY EDITOR Cover photo: Patty McCarthy
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 03
VIPER
WORDS: LEE HAZELL | PHOTO: WOS WRESTLING
“WOS IS A LABOUR OF LOVE” WE SPOKE TO VIPER AHEAD OF WOS he is the standard bearer for women’s professional wrestling in the UK. And if you saw her match against Toni Storm in WWE’s Mae Young Classic, or her rivalry with Kay Lee Ray on the indie circuit, you would realise that her standard shatters the gender barrier. Viper is one of Britain’s best wrestlers, full stop. Because of that, she’s was the first woman featured on the World of Sport revival on New Year’s Eve, 2016, and the first woman to get a pin fall victory when she hit Alexis Rose with a senton. After such a show of force, she returns for ITV’s brand-new series, again competing in its first women’s match.
S
then you need to go back stage and get ready for your promos, then you have go back because you’ve got to get changed and then you’ve got to do this and you’ve got to do that. There was one day when I had so much to do I had to schedule with the hair and make-up people when I needed to take a shower. They asked why and I told them the way my hair is when I come out of a match is not the way it looks when it goes in. If I need to look like I’m fresh, I need a shower. It’s this big rush every day. It was challenging for all of us because none of us are used to that and none of our bodies are used that either. People say to me, “Oh, but don’t you have house shows every day of the week?” And I’m like, “Yeah, but this isn’t a house show is it?” This is live television. We’re all putting it all out on the line in each match. Ultimately, it was very hard but it was a labour of love. Every single person made just such a team effort. I’m proud as punch to see how it comes out.
What is the difference between filming a pre-shot series of episodes, like WOS Wrestling, and performing in a more live environment? Where did you get the name Viper from? It was hard because we hadn’t really been exposed to that before. So, we did all ten episodes in three days. The entire series in three days. That’s not just your matches you’ve got to do. You’ve got your pictures, your promos, every bit of filming has to be done on the same day. You need to do your photos, then you have to be ready for your match,
04 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
Do you really want to know? It’s really nerdy. It’s so nerdy. I’m called Viper because when I was a wee girl, I was in love with the Texas Rattlesnake, Stone Cold Steve Austin. I wanted to be just like him, he’s so badass. Yeah, that’s why I’m called Viper.
Every time people want to make a big statement about the quality of their wrestling, they get Viper. Pro Wrestling Eve had you in the Babes with Power Tournament, WWE made you a part of the Mae Young Classic and now, WOS have you in their first women’s match of their new series. How does it feel to be the go-to woman right now? It’s very daunting, because for me, I don’t think I’m that good at all. I think I’m okay. Genuinely. I just want to be better all of the time. So to get all of this acclaim, I’m like, “Oh, really? You sure?” When we did the BBC documentary they thought it would be really interesting to follow me around. I was like, “What? I just sit on my couch and watch Netflix.” But I am really proud of it, especially when it came to World of Sport. That’s why they did a little teaser in this first episode. They were getting people ready. Apart from the pilot we did on New Year’s Eve a lot of them would probably never have seen women’s wrestling before, so I’m really proud of that. I’m so proud to be considered to be a benchmark of how women’s wrestling is going to be viewed for the first time.
Watch WOS Wrestling on ITV every Saturday at 5pm It really, really fills me with pride and joy because I really want there to be wee girls and wee boys going, “I want to be like Viper. I want to be like Kay Lee Ray. I want to be like Bea Priestly.” I feel like this is so important to all of us because when we were growing up, when we were five and six, we all hoped we were going to be Jet from Gladiator and that’s what I want to be. I can’t wait to see kiddies going to school with a World of Sport lunchbox.
What is your ambition for World of Sport Wrestling? My ambition personally? I would like to be a bit more of a personality. It’s hard one though, because people in the wrestling scene have known me as a face for a long time and I think no matter who I am as a person that’s who comes through in my wrestling now. Whereas in WOS I want to fill my matches with dirty, bad girl scowls and dirty eye pokes and nastiness. So, at one point we’ve just done this BBC documentary where I’ve come across as the biggest sweetheart on the planet and now I’m doing World of Sport and I’m trying to be this big baddy, so I don’t know if I’m playing the right cards here. Then again, I think it might be good because it shows depth and range. So I was thinking that documentary was going to be more to my detriment but now maybe it would
be more to my testament. It sounds so cheesy but I really want to see a wee girl going to school with me on her back pack. For me, this is why I made this. There’s lots to talk about with the brands of UK wrestling. It’s the best that there is, but when I thought about it, I want to make matches for wee boys and girls sitting at their dinner table with their mum going, “If you don’t eat your dinner we’re not putting the wrestling on,” or, “If you don’t go to bed I’m going to phone Viper and she’s going to come and get you.” That’s who I want to wrestle for. I want to be the baddy in WOS. You know when you’re growing up as a kid and there’s that baddy, that character you don’t want to be? That’s what I want to be. I want them to look at Kay Lee and her to be their superhero. It’s so mushy, but it means so much to me to think how we’re going to influence the next generation. I hope me and Kay Lee tango until the day we die.
That’s so cool to hear because while I have seen you both live, I’ve never seen you face each other in person. Really?! I’m really proud of what we’ve done because we have worked together for so long but I feel like every time we’ve done it’s different. This was different for all the wrestling fans, as well. They’re
so used to seeing Kay Lee as a heel and me as a face. Whereas now it’s completely flipped on it’s head and it was like, “Oh, shit.” We were talking about it like, “What are we going to do?!” We had to stop and think for a minute. I’m so excited for you to see it. I really hope you love it.
I really loved the opening episode. Do you know what I’m really happy about? I’m really, really happy how normalised it was that we’ve got Val as a commentator. It wasn’t made a big deal out of because it shouldn’t be a big deal. It should just be normal. When I sat and watched and listened to it, I feel like she just added such a perfect element to the show because, normally when you’re listening to wrestling commentators they’re spitting off all these facts and figures but I feel like she brought this really relatable quality. A casual quality. She relates what’s going on in the ring to real life scenarios. That’s going to help casual fans come in so much more and not feel so ostracised because they’re not wrestling know-it-alls. She brought such a great element to it. I can’t wait to see more WOS. It’s perfect. There’s something for everybody. Everybody’s going to love it. I’m proud as punch.
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 05
BROCK LESNAR
BROCK LESNAR: WHY BROCK’S BAD FOR RAW o Brock Lesnar, questionable cowboy boots and all, is coming for Daniel Cormier at an undetermined UFC night when his drugs ban is lifted at the beginning of 2019. Big surprise. For the last six years the St. Peter of Suplex City has flipflopped from the UFC to WWE and back more than Big Show’s bounce between babyface and heel, and it was well known that his time as Universal Champion would one day end in order for him to shuffle sideways back to the octagon. The sooner this happens though, the better. Lesnar, for all his drawing power, is currently a leech on the WWE, sucking a significant amount of life out of the company and in particular Monday Night RAW. This isn’t just some anti-Brock, throwing of toys out the pram either; a large number of the WWE Universe share the same view, to the point that even a Roman Reign’s victory in their rumoured – and yet, inevitable – clash at Summerslam will be welcomed, even if it is in relief than jubilance.
bouts. As a result, the Universal Championship never feels like the Holy Grail for RAW’s roster, more just some bonus prize that pops up now and then like the mystery UFO that flies over the screen on Space Invaders. Consequently, any storylines leading towards a Universal Championship fight never develop anywhere NEAR the hype required for a big match feel because there isn’t a constant presence of the champion or the gold he has around his waist. On Smackdown, for example, champion AJ Styles is present at 9/10 of the shows either competing or at ringside for fights against potential contenders to his crown and this adds to the build because he’s there. The belt is there. That’s what the prize is, in front of the roster to take inspiration from, that maybe one day it’ll be in their possession. On RAW? Nothing of the sort. If Lesnar was defending his title at the majority of pay-perviews and appearing at every go home show beforehand then the problem would certainly lessen, perhaps not even exist. As it is, to paraphrase Hamlet, something is indeed rotten in the state of RAW and worsening by the week.
The biggest factor here is the ‘ghost champion’ concept. It’s not always a total failure, but with Lesnar having considerable control over when he defends his belt, there’s no consistency or continuity to his
The knock-on effect of this as well is that most of the roster are growing stagnant whilst the wait for the belt to come back goes on. For sake of argument, let’s say it IS Roman Reigns who finally gets
S
06 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
the better of Brock and takes his first Universal Championship at Summerslam. Immediately, a plethora of opportunities and potential storylines going forward open up to the Creative Team. Another SHIELD face off with either Rollins or Ambrose? A long-term tussle with Finn Balor? A tantalising back and forth with The Miz? With the added spice of keeping out of reach of Mr Monster in the Bank, Braun Strowman, every one of those has the potential to be a blockbuster of a feud, but whilst it’s in the gloved hands of Lesnar, a guy who clearly only fights and/or puts in effort against those he deems worthy of it (his match against AJ Styles at last year’s Survivor Series a perfect example of this), nobody mentioned above save for Reigns and Strowman are going to get anywhere near his belt, and that’s caused the entire division to suffer for far too long. Speaking of putting in effort, it’s now bordering on disgraceful that when Lesnar DOES fight, fans have to an endure a match lasting less than ten minutes comprising of multiple German Suplexes, a couple of F5’s and one pin to retain the title before he swaggers off back to Sable with another half million in his back pocket. His movepool is so small you wouldn’t even get damp if you stood in it, and his entire attitude towards the bouts and WWE is shameful when you
WORDS: JOZEF RACZKA | PHOTO: WWE
WRESTLER OF THE MONTH
TRENT SEVEN
consider the people who could – and indeed, should – be in his place that work day in, day out for far less payout and reward. Yes, his gaining of the belt at Wrestlemania 33 was a nice end to his feud with Goldberg, but now his run is more boring than a Jason Jordan promo, which says pretty much everything. The minute the Universal Championship changes hands and comes back to RAW on a weekly basis, everything changes. The belt’s value goes up, the feuds get more interesting and the build ups can reach fever pitch, along with the fact that a title opportunity not only opens up for a far larger proportion of the talent, but matches could realistically go either way and not completely destroy credibility or momentum, which is what will happen at present. Of course, nobody knows how long this will be, but if it happens before the end of August, WWE could end the year on a seriously strong note. Will it? Probably not, but we can all hope.
eter is the current WWE UK Champion, Tyler was the first WWE UK Champion but what of Trent? For this month’s Wrestler of the Month, I wanted to highlight the bedrock, the cornerstone, the other non-geologically minded metaphor of British Strong Style, Trent Seven. Not just an insanely lovely person as anyone who’s attended any show he’s been booked on can probably attest to but also one of the most charismatic mouthpieces anywhere in the wrestling world and as his two classics this past month with Tyler Bate against The Undisputed Era have shown, one of its most accomplished wrestlers too, gaining not only the NXT Tag-Team Championships at The Royal Albert Hall but even when losing those belts just weeks later, getting a cheeky 5 Star match from Uncle Dave, the first WWE TV and WWE Tag match to do so.
P
This one goes out to you, Trent, for never letting yourself be upstaged by your younger proteges, for never giving less than 100% and most of all, for managing to rock that silver fox/bear/sugar daddy vibe like no one else could. You’re doing Wolverhampton proud, lad.
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 07
JEFF HARDY
WORDS: JAMES TOAL | PHOTO: WWE
“I THINK I’M ALWAYS GOING TO FEEL LIKE I WANT TO GO ALL OUT” JEFF HARDY henever you see a deaf defying stunt take place within a wrestling ring, it’s hard not to think of the man that put it all on the line since his debut. Jeff Hardy has shown that he’ll put everything on the line to entertain audiences everywhere. Right now in 2018, Jeff is seeing new accomplishments and seems to continue to impress everyone even this far in his career. With his SummerSlam plans seemingly ready to go, we managed to get a chat with Jeff where we discussed his current health, his future, and how he feels working with his brother Matt while on separate shows.
W
The conversation got started by talking about Jeff’s current medical status. There have been rumours floating around the web that he may be going into Summer Slam with a significant injury. Jeff commented on this by reassuring us that mostly all is well. “I’m a little beat up but my back is a lot better than it was a few weeks ago, I’ve been going to the chiropractor every week and getting massages, trying to as much yoga and stretching as possible. So my back is a lot better, but I’ve been having this issue in my elbow like a
08 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
nerve issue. My hand was asleep for probably seven weeks until it finally woken which I like to joke about, but still last night at a live event I banged it again I hyperextended it. It’s got that weird pain in it again, the medical team is keeping an eye on it and I’ve been taping it up every night. Overall I’m forty years old, I feel pretty good to be wrestling the way I am in 2018.” He went on to confirm that he is indeed ready to get to work for WWE’s big PPV. “Yeah as far as I’m concerned.” With talks of injury, the conversation shifted to his current work rate. WWE has been known to push certain wrestlers to their limits, whether this is to match competition from other companies or if superstars themselves put pressure on their performance, either way it has led to significant medical concerns. We asked Jeff if he still feels the need to go break expectations and blow audiences away, or would he rather take the time to slow down. Jeff had this to say. “I think I’m always going to feel like I want to go all out, especially if that red light’s on for pay per view or TV or whatever. I actually haven’t been doing the Swanton every night from live events because I’ve been having some
lower back issues. It’s helped out to take that away from the live events and save it for TV and I think that’s going to help me along the way moving forward.” It’s understandable that Jeff would want to save the special stuff for TV and PPV’s. It may be hard to believe for some, but Jeff is indeed a human being and even he has to think about the risk versus reward when it comes to putting his body in harm’s way. It’s time to respect his choices in that regard and let him focus on keeping his body working and adapting to entertain in any way he can. One reason you could believe that Jeff would want to preserve his health is through his family, most notably his children. When asking the question about whether he would let his kids take part in this physically demanding business, he seemed incredibly positive towards it.
SummerSlam will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. UK viewers can tune in on Sky Sports Box Office, or watch on the award-winning WWE Network.
“My seven-year-old Ruby is starting to love wrestling and I’m all for it. If she wants to do it, I think her and my younger daughter my two-yearold, Nera Quinn. I would train them, they’d be the only two people on earth I’d be willing to coach or train because that’s not really my thing. If they want to do it, I’ll totally support them. Ruby is actually a huge Randy Orton fan. I think she loves him more than me even when he beats me up. I’m all for it, if they want to do it, I’m behind them all the way.” It goes without saying that Ruby and Nera Quinn are in good hands when it comes to learning about the business from such a notable wrestler like Jeff. The support he has for his kids is very heartwarming and the desire to work with them all the way if they’re inclined leads me to believe that we could be seeing some future eye-catching wrestlers in the future.
Lastly, we decided to talk about the partnership between Jeff and his Woken/Broken brother, Matt Hardy. Since the return at Wrestlemania 33, The Hardys have thrived and managed to leave a mark for themselves in modern WWE. Now that the brothers are on separate brands, we asked if this has lead to any competition between the two. For example, if Matt does something remarkable one week, will Jeff try to raise the bar in some friendly competition? Jeff told us straight and enlightened us on the current relationship with Team Extreme. “No, not really, that’s what made us such a great team. We’re complete opposites in a way. I watch RAW when I can, he watches Smackdown and we always text each other and compliment on the matches or whatever happens. We influence each other in that way but I don’t think it’s a competition thing. We
just want to support each other and still help each other learn as we grow.” It’s good to see that both brothers take time out of their day to support one another with their work, it let us know that even though they’re on separate shows they still care about how the other is doing. Whether it’s a compliment or criticism, The Hardy Boys will always be there to help each other out. Overall, it was an eye-opening chat with the man formally known as Brother Nero. It seems that Jeff will continue to grow as he goes through his wrestling career, whether that’s bringing in the crowds or behind the scenes training his two young daughters. It’ll be hard to take wrestling away from him, no matter how high he climbs or how hard he falls.
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 09
JIMMY JACOBS
JIMMY JACOBS INTERVIEW WORDS: STEPH FRANCHOMME | PHOTO: IMPACT immy Jacobs wears many hats in Impact. Manager, backstage agent, creative, all at once. We had the opportunity to talk to Jimmy Jacobs, he shared with us on his experiences with Impact, his present and future with it and how he has so quickly become such an essential part of its success.
J
It seems like you have become essential in Impact Wrestling. Recently, Tessa Blanchard was saying that you helped her a lot, many wrestlers have been praising everything you could do for them. What do you think of their words? I really enjoy working with Impact. I had that time in WWE as a writer, being on the creative team and helping produce the television shows. There were some really fun things in doing that for WWE, but there were also downsides to it as well. I fell like with Impact right now, I get all the upside. I get the chance to help create, I get the
10 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
chance to help out talents. Having the opportunity to have somebody like me for talents, like Tessa Blanchard who has a lot of potential and is awesome in the ring. She’s got all the basics covered and we can take her from being like “Okay she’s really talented, has a lot of potential” to helping her realize that potential. It’s my job to help talents be better than they are and to see them unfold, to see them grow into themselves. Matt Sydal is a huge example. Matt Sydal has been one thing his whole career, it’s been great, being a sort of babyface that can have great matches, who doesn’t talk much, being a good wrestler and doing high-flying stuff. That’s been him his whole career and, a few months back, we took a chance on him when we said: “Hey I think there’s something more.” We
capitalized on what he is in real life, with him being kind of spiritual and holistic and those sort of things. We thought why not adding that in his character and try something else. There were people even internally who thought that was a bad idea. People want to cheer Matt because he does impressive moves, they’re going to be confused by this new character of his. But over the past month, seeing Matt develop
and seeing him during the last taping session in early June, the promo he cuts that’s going to air in a few weeks and the backstage promos on Brian Cage, it was the best thing I shot from anybody. Matt has never been a good talker, he’s never been great with promos, and this guy cuts the best promo I saw that week. To
see that transformation, to see that happen, to see somebody who didn’t even know they had it in themselves and to see that come out because you believe in them, because the group of people here saw something else in him and to see that come to fruition, that’s awesome. That’s great, I love it.
You’ve seemed to envision wrestling as a whole, being a wrestler, a manager, a creative. Has it always been the way you see the business? When I first starting wrestling at 15 or 16, I was already producing and doing creative stuff, but not in an official capacity. I’ve done it my whole career. I can remember being young and putting together promos that were sort of complicated. In my early 20s, being a guy people would even look to for that sort of help come up with finishes. I remember being around 22 or 23
and like having all the moving parts and being like “I would always be good at observing what we call the circus”. When you have all the runins and all the different elements to it and then taking all the elements, that’s the best way. What I’m doing now is kind of what I’ve always been doing.
It seems like you have a kind of third eye when it comes to showing the best of what a wrestler can be, is capable of, what can fit him or her. Is it like a sixth sense or an expression of the way you understand the wrestling business? Thank you, I appreciate that. I was 15 and I wasn’t very athletic, I wasn’t very good in the ring, but I’ve always had a certain aptitude for the psychology of the entertainment, of doing different things and trying different things. When I look back on when I was 17, all the stuff I was doing and trying, the stories I was telling, even at a very young age, I probably shouldn’t even be able to do but I could. In the ring, I wasn’t very good but I’ve always had an aptitude for it. So it’s been really cool to have an opportunity to do that. I have started to do it a little bit before WWE, I was helping out backstage a little bit. I was helping with Ring of Honor, I would be the booker and I would talk about angles, I would
give ideas and that sort of stuff. But doing it in an official capacity for WWE was great. As far as you’re presenting new talents, one of the first things I like to do is to look at the talent and try to find out what’s special and relatable about this guy. What is going to make him unique to the audience, but also connect to the audience. It’s two sides of a coin, being unique and relatable. Once you figure that out about a character, then you try to take the picture to accentuate those things. When you found the right thing, the “X-factor”, that’s when the vision comes in, when you can look at somebody and say “Okay, this is the thing about him”. Someone like Dusty Rhodes was very, very good at that. Since the passing of Dusty, I think NXT is missing that vision. To look at Bayley and say “Okay, you’re such a fan, this is how we present you and this is how we get you up, this is how we paint the picture of like this is a girl that’s just super happy and excited to being here and this is how we do.” She hugs because she’s so happy and embraces that. That’s the presentation that will help up her be unique to the fans. That sort of vision, the execution of that concept served her at its finest.
You’re the manager of Kongo Kong on TV and you seem to enjoy that role so much. But do you see AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 11
JIMMY JACOBS
yourself wrestling for Impact? I’ve known Kongo since I was 14 years old, before I even started wrestling. We’re both from the same area. Since we worked with him on national television, international television, from being young kids and now being grown up and doing this together, it’s been awesome. Kongo is so talented. As far as wrestling with Impact goes, I don’t see that happening right now, it’s not especially completely off the table but what I do at the shows, producing the shows, honestly it’s a lot. It’s a lot to the point where even sometimes going on performing as a manager like takes me away from my responsibilities backstage. It’s a hard thing to juggle sometimes.
You’re still wrestling for indie companies and you recently wrestled former Impact World Champion Pentagon Junior. Was it the first time and what was it like? That was the first time. I got the chance to wrestle his brother Fénix a couple of months before that. Fénix is a great man, he’s a star. He’s one of those guys you don’t know how good they are until you get in the ring with them. And once you get in the ring with them, you realize that this guy is
12 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
really good. Pentagon was great, it was an awesome opportunity that was actually on an Impact Twitch show. It’s super cool to work with somebody like that who was so popular before coming to Impact. It makes everything a lot easier when they got with the people of the guy you’re wrestling. I thought we had a fun match.
Who are the favourites wrestlers to work with on Impact? think we have such a lot of good guys. Austin Aries is awesome, I’ve known him since the independents. To see him now in Impact not only as a performer but as a person and now see how good he is at his job, I almost forgot it because in WWE they sometimes forget to accentuate a guy’s strength. I was working with him a few weeks ago, we were doing a sit-down interview together and I thought “This guy is incredible. I wish other kids could sit here and like see what I’m seeing about how good this guy is”. For anything you give him on every single level, I think the world is his. I mentioned Tessa Blanchard before, I think she’s going to be a big star. She’s so eager to learn and she’s so coachable, she’s so smart that you can give her something and whatever you give her, she does it and you don’t need to tell her twice. So many people are great to work with for different reasons, some because they’re just so good how they are, some because you see
where they can improve and you see them improving.
Do you have a message for people who are afraid to embrace who they are, people who are afraid to paint their nails or dress like a Zombie Princess like you do in the ring? One thing I’m learning personally is that through all the experience I’ve had in this past year and a half is that I’m not defined by my success, I’m not defined by my career, I’m not defined by even my creativity or my intelligence or how I am as a performer. I think it’s a hard thing to internalize. I don’t have value because I’m creative, I don’t have value because I know how to wrestle, that’s not my value. My value is inherent as a human being and that can’t be taken away. It’s a hard thing to internalize, but the more you do, the more content you feel because what other people see you as, that has no effect on your values as a human being. How other people might see you when you show your authentic self, you have to come to a realization that that has no bearing on who you are as a person. My creativity only has value in that, it’s the tool I could use to hopefully be of service to other people and to make the world a better place. Who you are is brilliant and great, just the way you are and that’s it. You should always be that.
WILL OSPREAY
WORDS: DAVE ADAMSON | PHOTO: OLI SANDLER
THE DICHOTOMY OF A DAREDEVIL – ON THE LOVE AND HATE OF
WILL OSPREAY ill Ospreay is a divisive figure in wrestling – the “flippy guy” who found success around the world, his style is an acquired taste and I’ve found myself torn between loving and hating his work in equal measure.
W
The first Will Ospreay match that blew me away was Velocity Vipers vs The London Riots as they faced each other at PROGRESS Chapter 2 in 2012.
24 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018 14
Just over ten minutes into the match, Alex Esmail starts to favour his leg in what would turn out to be a career-ending injury and Will Ospreay spends the final third of the match on his own against two big bruisers, and what a performance he gives. From there, Ospreay was, for me, one to watch. As a fan of technical wrestling and displays of power, Ospreay was anathema to what I usually watch in wrestling. I described him, in conversation, as a fireworks display – the sort of thing that’s impressive when you watch it, but you don’t think about it after that. I called him “the McDonald’s of wrestling” – you might like it but
you’ll want something else half an hour later. All this and I still couldn’t stop watching him and seeing an evolution in his ability that kept me coming back. Over the years, I’ve seen (both live and online) his fantastical work with the likes of Mark Andrews, Jimmy Havoc, Paul Robinson, Marty Scurll, Pete Dunne, Ricochet, KUSHIDA and others. I’ve seen him go from the guy who had standout matches to the guy who told standout stories. Then, I listened to the first Flash Morgan Webster Wrestling Friends podcast where, alongside his two Swords of Essex stablemates,
He’s the backyarder with big ambitions, who has done what many dream about yet few achieve in the UK
he buried those who had criticised him. This was Ospreay at his seemingly most arrogant and, occasionally, angry, and it vexed me. This isn’t the Will Ospreay who would later speak to Chris Jericho on the Talk is Jericho podcast with Bea Priestley. He’s proven himself, on many occasions, to be funny, eloquent, with a wonderfully laddish sense of humour who is loving life and loving Bea. When he’s not in the ring, telling the story that he has to tell, he speaks his mind and that can make him his own worst enemy. Anyone who follows his Twitter account will see that he occasionally sees injustices, be they social or business based, and speaks out. He’s entitled to speak his mind, it’s his opinion and he never professes to be a master of all things, yet he has such a presence in wrestling that he often finds himself the focus of outrageous responses. People don’t ignore what he says, they jump on it; they either praise or vilify his words, just like many of us have done with his wrestling over the years. Like many British wrestling fans, we’ve followed Will Ospreay around the world, maybe not in person but thanks to the power of the Internet. He’s broken away from tag team wrestling to chart his own destiny and taken Paul Robinson and Jimmy Havoc, a divisive figure in wrestling himself, to extremes. He’s become the centre of a Twitter storm with Vader and delivered a consistent series of career-defining performances at NJPW and in PROGRESS, amongst
other places, and become a centrepiece of WCPW/Defiant. And, when you look at the timeline for this, you realise what we’ve really seen isn’t a poorly written fictional character that writers have only just realised how to use, this is a capricious kid who has grown into a young man who has done it in front of us all. He may not be the archetype of a British wrestler, but he never claimed to be. He has an intensity of ambition that few can match and it’s ambition that has taken him around the world and turned him into an astute businessman. He’s the backyarder with big ambitions who has done what many dream about yet few achieve in the UK – he’s living his dream on a global scale. It’s also a dream that has led to the rise and fall of his own company (the partnership that was Lucha Forever is available on Demand Progress) and, from this, like the Phoenix, he has created Frontline Wrestling and hopes to learn from past mistakes. Learning from past mistakes… surely, that’s a commendable skill. And, he certainly has. Looking at his work since his NJPW debut, this is a reborn Will Ospreay, harking back to his idea of evolution. He strikes with precision and has developed a psychology of his own. He looks like he could really hurt you in multiple ways and he’s in the best shape of his career. He still moves with a style that some have compared to Cirque Du Soleil and that Dave Meltzer suggested would put him in a wheelchair, but this is a man who, as with everything he
does, takes calculated risks that pay off wherever he appears and whatever he does. He took the anger of Vader, the criticism over his performances with Ricochet and the consternation over his style and turned them into positives. He might as well have said “so what?” because he knew that we were all watching and talking about him (and that recognition spread to the podcasts of some of the best-known names in wrestling). He was getting the recognition he wanted and he was getting the type of exposure that many can only wish that they would get in their careers, and all before he turned 25 (which he did, in May 2018). He’s a marquee performer where every match becomes a must-see event and it’s easy to see why that self-confidence may tip over into an arrogance that frustrates. He’s a product of his own success, success borne of criticism and tempered by selfbelief. Is he reckless? Anyone watching him would certainly think so. But, take the time to watch more than the GIFs and you see a great showman who is a supreme example of athleticism – you can see, in his work, an artistic gymnastic skill that wouldn’t look out of place in the Olympics, a presentation that harks back to his theatre background, an intensity that has driven him throughout his career as he defies all expectations and will, one day, when he’s ready, lead him to the WWE.
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 15
WWEUK+WOS
WORDS: DAVE ADAMSON | PHOTO: WWE
WOS WRESTLING VS WWE NXT UK? A COMPETITION THAT BENEFITS US ALL n 18 June 2018, Triple H announced that the WWE would finally kickstart its long-awaited UK series with the creation of NXT UK, led by the World of Sport wrestling legend Johnny Saint and coming to venues across the country for a short run of tapings.
O
Elsewhere, WoS Wrestling, the TV revival of World of Sport, filmed ten episodes for an upcoming sixtyminute series that will, hopefully, air on ITV in the United Kingdom, over the summer. For the first time in decades, British wrestling is returning to mainstream television, hopefully in a prime-time shot and, importantly, will attract a new fan base to a product that modern wrestling fans know and love. British wrestling will also become a feature of the biggest wrestling company in the world, likely on its WWE Network, enjoying a global fanbase of two million subscribers and the freedom that the commercial-free platform enjoys. Calling the WWE UK brand NXT UK does, however, set the bar for success incredibly high. Look at the online fan response to NXT and
16 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
you’ll see just how passionate their fans are for a product that is as close to “indy wrestling” as WWE get, separate to the mainstream of WWE products, but benefitting from the juggernaut’s production quality both for the WWE Network product and live. WWE NXT UK will likely be treated as an extension of NXT by the fans and, when you consider it will be seen by fans outside the UK who may be unfamiliar with British talent, it needs to match that level of presentation and production. The talent that they’ve so far announced are at the top of their game and WWE can certainly provide that grounding in working for TV for those who haven’t to give us the stars that fans long to see. Putting NXT UK on the WWE Network is a smart move for WWE if that is their intention. The WWE Network is a treasure trove of classic wrestling, modern product and relatively niche content, all of which appeal to ardent WWE and wrestling fans. There may be a viewership who just stick it on to “entertain the kids”, but if you consider the number of streaming services that have stuff to entertain, that kid must be a wrestling fan to start with. Either way, it’s a service just for wrestling fans, why else would you be watching it? WoS Wrestling has a much bigger
challenge. ITV isn’t a single purpose channel, beyond its remit to entertain and inform, and it’ll be a programme in between unrelated programmes. It needs to find its identity and its viewership quickly and, importantly, attract new fans – fans who may be casual wrestling fans or, until they switch it on, not wrestling fans at all. Before Love Island broadcast, there were no Love Island fans, the same for X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent or any of the heavy hitters that ITV currently broadcast. From no fans to millions, television shows can become part of the zeitgeist or be Bromans. You may not be able to see WWE UK stars on your favourite big promotion, although it’s unlikely that PROGRESS will be affected if the likes of British Strong Style are anything to go by and with suggestions that PROGRESS may be working closely with WWE UK, but if the current crop of WWE UK stars are anything to go by since the inception of WWE UK, you’ll certainly be able to see them at other independent promotions. It’s the same, it seems, for WoS Wrestling. The names booked there have appeared elsewhere and this isn’t likely to change unless both companies radically alter the contracts that have already been signed. Things could change in the future -; in this case, history isn’t
an indicator of the future – but only time will tell. Under the present contract, it seems both sets of stars need to prioritise their contract holder dates above all others. Sure, there’s been a couple of “unexpected circumstances” where the WWE UK talent had to pull out of bookings to appear in the US, but this is less of an issue in a UK based product, with the dates announced for the current run of NXT UK shows. Even WoS has got their tapings done and dusted, though if it is the success it deserves to be, there could very well be a tour which may affect dates, although it’d be folly to have either company announce and run dates at such short notice that nobody has time to react. Surely, it’ll be a good thing for companies able to announce “as seen on WWE/NXT/WoS”? After all, those logos will, if well used, catch attention. It can bring new fans to local shows and, if the shows are well done, keep them coming back for more, with or without those “famous names”.
If, suddenly, it turns out that NXT UK and WoS become walled gardens of talent, what does it mean to British wrestling? You’ll need new heroes and it’ll be up to the companies to find these. You may have grown up with the likes of Nathan Cruz, El Ligero, Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, Kenny Williams, Flash Morgan Webster and Zack Gibson, but there was a time when these guys weren’t in British wrestling, or weren’t well known, even by independent wrestling standards. As with the toys of our childhood (or that latest must-have gadget that’s become a few years old), we’ll find something new that does what we want it to and love that until it’s replaced by the next big thing. Noam Dar was a darling of British wrestling and we survived his move to WWE as we did with Jack Gallagher, Finn Balor, Neville, Paige, Drew McIntyre, Mark Andrews, Becky Lynch and Sheamus amongst others. Globally, WWE has swept up international talent and independent wrestling has endured. It finds a way to handle the loss of
the key players, it just takes time. At least, however, companies know who is signed for whom, instead of just getting that “I know it ruins all your plans for me, but WWE has just signed me and it’s a contract, so I’m going.” So, which product should you be watching? Well, both, of course. This isn’t so much WWE vs WoS, it’s a time to love British wrestling as it grows on two huge platforms. WoS Wrestling is a 60-minute series, NXT is currently under an hour and it’d be a surprise if NXT UK has a longer regular running time. It’s not a big ask to a watch a couple of hours of TV in a week for the ten weeks of WoS and in the otherwise regular WWE viewing that some fans maintain. If you prefer one over the other, switch to that. Otherwise, you could keep moaning about not liking something whilst continuing to willingly choose to do it in a curiously non-ironic way; that’s what social media is for, isn’t it?
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 17
HEEL TURN
WORDS: LIAM O’ROURKE | PHOTO: WWE
THE HEEL TURN: THE OBLIVIOUS MODERN WWE FAN ith the news of the huge TV contracts WWE is signing for 2019 this week, talk has circulated about the disconnect between the gigantic money being made and the fall in interest amongst fans themselves. Most metrics, be it ratings, attendance, what have you, are down. For business, it hasn’t mattered. But what of the state of the product? My mind keeps drawing back to the biggest show of the year thus far, for the message sent was a telling sign of the times. Let’s revisit.
W
As the main event of WrestleMania 34 ended, a shambolic affair, I was left flat like most in attendance and most everybody reading right now. But it was a dual feeling coursing through me. On one hand, the company took a potentially all-time great WrestleMania and fumbled the show at the halfway mark as we all know, starting with the Undertaker fiasco. But I kept thinking of that main event, a match that saw a litany of suplexes, F5’s, spears, hardway blood and a surprise finish. The fans had no desire to play along with the match, feeling that they knew the outcome. Besides, Brock was going, they don’t like Roman,
18 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
so they decided to crap on it. No surprise there, you could see it coming a mile away. Many people called it going in. And if you study this at a skin-deep level, that’s all you’ll get out of it. With a deeper analysis, you’ll start to see that something about the way this audience thinks is very bizarre. You see, that wasn’t the only part of WrestleMania 34 where the crowd was a part of the story. Following the 3 minute job of John Cena, the crowd was noticeably worn, and it felt as if the wind was taken out of their sails. Fair enough, the show was so long I think I had a birthday in the middle. But 24 hours later, the rank hypocrisy of this modern WWE megafan became clear as day. Nia Jax, the new Raw Women’s Champion, stands in the ring receiving the latest redundant, false sentiment, the “you deserve it” chant. All of you at Raw who attended Mania, I want you to think about that for a second. Why did they chant that? A group of people that seem so hung up on Roman Reigns that they’d crap on a strong effort at WrestleMania without giving it a shred of a chance, despite his obvious upside and track record of good matches. He’s not top tier in the charisma stakes, fine, but they boo Reigns
based on the herd mentality and their belief that he’s the WWE’s handpicked choice. Those same fans sure seemed oblivious that they chanted “you deserve it” at Nia because they’re supposed to, and they’re playing along with the WWE’s story. Amazing. Juxtapose Nia Jax with Roman Reigns. Nia was unimpressive in her entire NXT run, was rushed to the main roster ahead of more over and more talented people, is still not a top level performer on promos or in the ring, and is a handpicked company choice for stardom every bit as much as Roman is. She only “deserved” it in storyline for being bullied. One month later at Backlash she cut a promo based on the story the fanbase had played along with, even encouraged, and it was met with a shower of boos. Why? Because it was false sentiment to begin with. As I’ve said before, this “smart” community is actually not smart at all. They’re die-hard WWE fans, they read the internet, but that doesn’t make them “smart” fans. They don’t understand how things work at all. They make superficial summary judgements with no ability to think analytically or realistically. Their opinions are utterly worthless. Want proof ? Yeah, Mania was a long show, but the crowd was still
Order Liam's book Crazy Like A Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later on Amazon
less enthusiastic for Daniel Bryan’s return than they should be. And after clamouring for Styles and Nakamura forever, their energy fell when the match started. Those matches were custom made for that audience to gush over and “help” the same way they did Nia the next night. And I’ll listen to (and agree with) the argument that neither match was put together in such a way to get the best possible response. However, Braun Strowman, the big monster that’s been pushed to the moon, picking a 10-year-old out of the crowd and becoming the new smiling Jim Duggan babyface got over great. Why? Because it’s silly, it’s novel, and the crowd could be all in on how funny it is together. Even though there is more money and more genuine appreciation in Bryan, Styles and Shinsuke, they saved their energy for the in-ring equivalant of the cheesy McMahon fart gag. Hardie-har-har. If I’m Vince and I see the reactions to Bryan, Styles and Nakamura compared to Nicholas the Tag Team Champion, I’d laugh my ass off at how hypocritical this audience is. Jim Cornette would always say that the die-hard fan is the first voice
you discount as a booker, because it’s coming from an assumption of knowledge, but it’s not accurate, and those fans will be there forever. He was proven right. As a result, things never really change. McMahon is trying one more time to try and engender sympathy for Roman Reigns by playing on the selfish reallife tendencies of Brock Lesnar, attempting to tug at their heartstrings by making the issue about brand loyalty. The fans will reject the match again if it happens at Summerslam. They will chant things that will be perversely entertaining and/or utterly cringeworthy. It will be their proclamation that brand loyalty isn’t enough to get them to cheer Roman. You know, after they already paid to get in to the WWE show before a single match was announced.
reason the product doesn’t look like what you want. Because when it comes down to it, even if things aren’t handled perfectly (very little is), the conviction of the WWE megafan isn’t there when it matters most. Roman Reigns is going to be the top guy for years to come. You’ll always complain, and it won’t change a thing. You’ll still be watching in a decade, you’ll still pay thousands of dollars to fly from every corner of the world to watch Mania live, and you’ll still be complaining when Reigns goes on last. And my thoughts to the fans in New Orleans who were chanting “This is awful”, and the ones who will do the same at Summerslam? You deserve it.
I’ll spell it out for you - This is the
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 19
CHRIS BROOKES
THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING CHRIS BROOKES or regular listeners to Flash Morgan Webster’s Wrestling Friends podcast, there are three names that are oft mentioned by the guests as influences in their careers – Alex Shane, Pete Dunne and Chris Brookes, and rarely could three influences be so diverse in their position in British wrestling and, in the first and last, be more divisive… but, for Alex Shane, that’s a story for another time.
F
Chris Brookes, it turns out, has helped the careers of many young wrestlers, often selflessly, it seems. His creative, occasionally surreal, mind – you just have to see his
20 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
WORDS: DAVE ADAMSON | PHOTO: OLI SANDERS
graphics work to see evidence of that – has led to CCK (the longrunning tag team that he started with Jonathan Gresham before including both Kid Lykos and Travis Banks), but has also given us the likes of Slap Dash Tag Team (with Tyler Bate), Vulture/Culture Squad (with Nixon Newell, now Tegan Nox in NXT) and seen him travel the world to ply his wares, blending the sublike and the ridiculous into compelling, sometimes eyebrow raising, wrestling action. Standing at 6’ 4” and billed at 187lbs, Chris Brookes has a look that instantly makes him stand out, and it’d be easy to brush him aside for not looking like the archetypical wrestler, but British wrestling is all about variety and this is a man who has made a career of being a
showcase for his own talents, whilst also highlighting his partners and opponents. Brookes stands tall, not just literally, but vocally when he addresses the fans, which is a skill not to be overlooked. When he speaks, fans want to listen and he captivates them with a vocal dexterity that matches his hell-forleather wrestling approach. Then there’s his flair for the visual, a creativity that has led to some of the most recognisable and consistently in demand merchandise in British wrestling with a presentation style that lends itself to near EC Comics levels of horror, not for the gore but for the beauty. It would be easy to have
ELIAS
WORDS: ELLIOT LEAVER | PHOTO: WWE style over substance, but Brookes has become master of both, finding a balance in all his work. Rarely the hardest of hitters, it’s Brookes ability to move like lightning, to execute sequences with flawless dexterity, turning his opponents into a human board game as he jumps, switches, shifts and glides around with almost preternatural grace. It’s like he’s playing a threedimensional game of chess mixed with Twister in a game where only he knows the rules. Whilst he’s capable as a singles performer, it’s in tag team action that he brings a whole new level of finesse. He’s turned Kid Lykos into a star in his own right, giving him the right stage for the problem child of professional wrestling’s superb talents, and allowing the younger performer to shine. This seems to be a skill of Brookes – he makes his partner the star, whilst never letting the focus entirely leave him. These men, including the likes of Tyler Bate, and women don’t walk in his shadow they stand in his light. With the fans firmly on his side, and a career that seems to be going from strength to strength, Chris Brookes is a prince of British wrestling and there can be no doubt that WWE has their sights set on him. Will he go to the big leagues? It seems inevitable, but at just 26 years old, he doesn’t seem to be in a rush. He’s in a position where he has achieved so much but has so much more to do. This is a Prince who doesn’t need to ascend to the Kingdom just yet. When he does, though, it’ll be a majestic reign.
“WALK WITH ELIAS” EP REVIEW... ello, I am Elias, and you’re going to remember this forever.” It’s a bold statement from the self-proclaimed Drifter of WWE, especially when it sets the tone for this four track EP - released on Monday 23rd July - immediately. The arrogance of Elias’ heel persona shows that he is completely in character for this record, something which actually takes the gloss off Walk With Elias; it’s no secret that he’s a talented musician, but if he’d been given the freedom to write what he wanted to, we may have seen a side to the man known as Jeffrey Logan Sciullo that transcended the WWE universe, maybe even blurred the lines between his alter ego and himself.
“H
That said, the quartet of tracks are not exactly half-hearted; there’s definitely been a fair amount of thought put into this. ‘The Ballad of Every Town I’ve Ever Been To…’ is a continuation of Elias’ general mockery of every city he performs in condensed into four minutes and, basic lyrics aside, is enough to bring a smile and a chuckle to the listener; ‘Elias’ Words’ takes this one step further, a blues-ier tone and chastising anyone who is in the superstar’s way, regardless of whether they’re his fans or not. ‘Nothing I Can’t Do’ is the strongest track, entirely on piano because that proves there’s genuinely nothing he can’t do, and containing a false finish that is expertly timed to comedic perfection. The EP finishes with ‘Walk With Me’ which is probably the most positive number, Elias beckoning everyone to follow the song’s title in that gravely voice so distinct to Scuillo. Will Walk With Elias be remembered forever? Probably not. Will it make the man even more over on RAW and in general? Most certainly. Is it a good EP? Well, it’s certainly not the worst thing WWE have ever released, and for that it deserves to be commended.
Rating: 3/5 AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 21
MINORU SUZUKI
WORDS: MAT LINDSAY | PHOTO: © NJPW
MINORU SUZUKI RETROSPECTIVE inoru Suzuki strides down the entrance ramp and climbs onto the apron of the NJPW ring, his body language is arrogant and his goblin face a picture of nonchalant disregard for every fan booing his presence. An eager Young Lion sits on the middle rope and holds up the top, allowing the veteran an easy task of stepping into the ring itself, and this done, Suzuki casually sends the hapless trainee tumbling to the floor at ringside with a kick as vicious as his attitude is uncaring.
M
With that one seemingly random act of violence to an innocent bystander, Suzuki shows how far he has come from an amateur wrestler and pioneer of MMA, to the status of a premier heel in the Japanese industry. While the cruel attack does little for him but perpetuate his image as a callous rule-breaker, the Young Lion will now forever be known as the kid whom Suzuki humiliated, and when he comes to make his own name, that slight will remembered, giving him motivation to excel, prove himself and maybe even gain his revenge when the time comes far down the line.
22 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
AMATEUR BEGINNINGS Born in 1968 in Yokohama, Suzuki’s first battles were against poor health and his own below average size, and he applied himself doggedly in amateur wrestling in order to alleviate the former and was then driven to prove himself on account of the latter. Good enough to win a regional championship in his native Kanagawa Prefecture and rank second amongst Japan’s Olympic wrestling alternates during the mid-eighties, he competed alongside contemporary prowrestler Yugi Nagata in more than one tournament, beating the future legend on both of their amateur encounters in 1986. Suzuki’s proven skills and determination made him an obvious choice to be scouted for professional dojos, and he was soon training in the NJPW school, making his debut for the company in 1988. But in the same year he was one of the many wrestlers with a genuine background in combat sports that jumped ship to follow the iconic Yoshiaki Fujiwara as left for the second incarnation of the UWF. Suzuki remained there for three years until Fujiwara again moved on to form Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi in 1991, but the next time he jumped ship, it was in 1993 when he teamed up with Masakatsu Funaki to create the truly ground breaking Pancrase promotion.
During its glory days in the midnineties, Pancrase did much to fuel the growing popularity of MMA in Japan, and the style of its legitimate competitions showcased Suzuki’s mastery of grappling and mat-based submission to the fullest. He fought a wide variety of opponents including not only fellow Japanese martial artists and wrestlers, but shoot-fighters such as Vernon White, kickboxing champion Maurice Smith and even secured a massive upset when he defeated Ken Shamrock in one of their controversial meetings. But by the end of the nineties, the constant competition endured by the bulldog-like Suzuki had begun to take its toll, and he scaled back his appearances in favour of managing the business side of Pancrase and training the next generation of fighters. He also diversified into other fields, providing the motioncapture for the character of King in the Tekken series of fighting games, and hinting at his future by making his last genuine appearance in a shoot fight against Keiichi Yamada (a man obviously better known as Jushin “Thunder” Liger).
RETURN TO THE SQUARED CIRCLE By 2003, Suzuki was making waves on the Tokyo wrestling scene in a typically characteristic manner, not by signing a big money contract,
but rather by invading various promotions as a freelance talent under the banner of Pancrase Mission with fellow MMA veteran Yusuke Fuke. But it was with the massive, bull-like presence of Yoshihiro Takayama at his side, that Suzuki really began to turn heads, as the pair began 2004 by defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Osamu Nishimura for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. When Takayama’s mounting health problems lead to them being stripped of the belts, it was not long before Suzuki began working for Pro Wrestling NOAH, unsuccessfully challenging Kenta Kobashi and later Jun Akiyama for the GHC World Heavyweight Championship, but having more luck after taking a young Naomichi Marafuji under his wing. Together the two defeated 2 Cold Scorpio and Doug Williams for the GHC World Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in June of 2005, holding onto the belts for four months until losing them to Mohammed Yone and Takeshi Morishima in October of the same year. In March of 2006, Suzuki made his AJPW debut in his own inimitable style by appearing unannounced and attacking reigning Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima after the successful defence of the title against The Great Muta. Though
this was considered tantamount to an official challenge for the belts, Suzuki was not granted his title match until September 2006, when the championship had already passed on to Taiyo Kea, whom he subsequently beat to lift his first major singles gold in professional wrestling.
Nosawa Rongai. Suzuki would lose both titles and a Triple Crown Championship match against old partner Takayama, but enjoy one final run with the three belts when he claimed them from Ryoto Hama in 2010, before dropping it once more to Nosawa in August of the same year.
Suzuki made successful defences against such challengers as Yoshihiro Tajiri, Yugi Nagata, Keiji Mutoh and even the former champion Kojima himself, before dropping the Triple Crown to Kensuke Sasaki in October of 2007. In 2008, Suzuki convinced a jaded Kea to team with him to win the AJPW World Tag Team Championship, and in early 2009 he also won the reinstated All Asia Tag Team Championship with ally
NJPW RENAISSANCE Suzuki crashed back onto the New Japan scene in late 2010, again beginning his stint in a major promotion by attacking an established babyface. This time it was Yugi Nagata, setting up a match in early 2011 at Wrestle Kingdom V, where Nagata got his revenge. In May of the same year, Suzuki seized control of the rudderless Kojima-gun stable after
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 23
MINORU SUZUKI
Taka Michinoku and Taichi Ishikari turned on Satoshi Kojima and ousted him as its leader. Renamed “Suzuki-gun” and reinvigorated by its new leader and the addition of American Lance Archer, the group went on to rank highly in the G1 Tag League tournaments that followed, and Suzuki himself enjoyed long winning streaks in G1 Climax tournaments as a singles competitor. As a group of brash, disrespectful interlopers, Suzukigun made the perfect foil for the more arrogant and polished Chaos stable, and the two clashed on numerous occasions in both singles and tag matches. Despite being part of a hot stable that was regularly featured in top feuds and with the biggest names in the company, Suzuki did not enjoy victory in many of them during this period. Challenging stars the likes of both Hiroshi Tanahashi and even the Chaos kingpin himself in the form of Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on major NJPW cards, Suzuki still remained without a singles title in his time with the company. During 2015 New Japan was in the middle of a period when it had propped up the ailing Pro Wrestling Noah, sending major names to compete on its cards and even providing the booking services of Jado to ensure their product was up to scratch. Imported into this different environment, Suzuki-gun thrived once more, with Suzuki defeating Naomichi Marafuji for the GHC Heavyweight Championship,
24 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
which he defended against top Noah names such as Takashi Sugiura and Takayama, before dropping it back to Marafuji in December of 2016. When the relationship between Noah and NJPW soured in early 2017, Suzuki-gun returned with momentum, clearly setting their sights on Chaos when the team of Suzuki, Taichi and Michinoku defeated Okada, Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta in their return match on 27th January. Suzuki’s subsequent challenge for the IWGP title on February 5th at New Beginning ended in Okada retaining the belt, but two months later on April 27th, he succeeded in defeating Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship. His very first NJPW singles title, Suzuki would hold the belt until the rematch with Goto at Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4th 2018, where the former champion regained the championship in a hair verses hair match, after which some of the indignity of losing his characteristically unique hair was mitigated when Suzuki chose to shave his own head. Though the loss was soon overcome, as a mere twenty three days later, Suzuki faced Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and won the (arguably) more important title, which he would hold until dropping it to Tetsuya Naito on April 29th.
A CHINK IN THE ARMOUR AND A SLIP OF THE MASK A pioneering force in Japanese MMA
and a proven masterful heel in the arena of professional wrestling, a casual observer could be forgiven for believing the sneering, disdainful and utterly disrespectful persona that Suzuki displays in the ring to be the whole truth of his actual character. But in the aftermath of the devastating injury which saw his long-term friend and partner Yoshihiro Takayama paralysed from the neck down, a very different side to Minoru Suzuki was visible for a short time. Suzuki supported his friend tirelessly and continues to do so, raising funds for the stricken wrestler and his young family with charity drives and appearances, making sure that no one forgets the legacy that Takayama left for himself in professional wrestling. At a press conference soon after the fate of Takayama was made public, the brutal and ruthless terror of the ring actually broke down and cried in front of the cameras as he discussed the terrible injury and its consequences. Thirty years into his professional wrestling career and at fifty years of age, Minoru Suzuki shows no signs of either retiring from active competition or even toning down his typically aggressive in-ring style, and in reflection of this, New Japan seem to be in no hurry to shuffle him out of the title picture on their most prominent shows. So whether you choose to peruse his extensive back catalogue of impressive matches or see what unfolds in the immediate future, either way you’ll be sure to see something uniquely compelling.
TENILLE DASHWOOD
INTERVIEW: TENILLE DASHWOOD WORDS: JOZEF RACZKA | PHOTO: PATTY MCCARTHY ou knew her for her matches against the likes of Paige, Asuka and Bayley, her friendship with Santino Marella, maybe even for having the best Muta Lock this side of Keiji Mutoh but this isn’t about them, this is all about Tenille. Since Tenille Dashwood was released from the WWE, she’s been going around the world proving to everyone who gets to see her work what a mistake that was by Stamford, CT’s finest, even if she’s been letting down all her Taste of Tenille fans having not updated her channel in two years. Regardless of her lack of commitment to being YouTube’s next great chef, we here at SteelChair got a chance to sit down with Tenille and also thought we’d tell you about some of the work of her’s you should have been paying attention to because
Y
as I said, it’s all about her.
After your altercation with Frankie Kazarian during the Doncaster Honor United show, is intergender Wwrestling something you'd be interested in pursuing further? It’s definitely something we’ve been discussing and it could be an interesting addition to the ROH shows, especially with the women showing they are of equivalent status to the men. Most of my training was against guys, it was years in before I had any women to train against,
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 25
TENILLE DASHWOOD
especially as you can see the majority of rosters are male and I’m not opposed to it by any means.
out with him on occasion so yeah, great time and no regrets, I’d recommend it to anyone.
Do you have a specific deal with Ring of Honor?
If you could bring any WWE worker to Women of Honor, who would it be?
I’m very happy with where I am and certainly feel like the company has my back and hopefully, feel like I’m someone who they can do business with. The timing was perfect with the Women Of Honor tournament and I jumped on the opportunity as did they and it’s been great so far and I’m excited to see what’s to come.
Is there any animosity between you and Sumie Sakai? You could say I was disappointed in myself for letting the crowd down (at Supercard of Honor where Dashwood failed to win the WOH Title Tournament) as many people expected me to take the title. You may have noticed I wasn’t out there with the other women celebrating when Sakai won the title and I still feel I let myself down. I still picture myself in that role and it wasn’t my moment then but it will be and hopefully very soon.
Do you have anything to say about your time with the Lance Storm Academy? I started at 19 on the recommendation of a friend. It was one of the best experiences of my career and Storm’s as good a friend as he was a trainer and I still hang
26 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
PHOTO: JAMES MUSSELWHITE
I’d have to say Bayley, she’s passionate, dedicated, we’re very close, we lived together in NXT and I admire the hard work she puts in, her ideas, her drive, I hope I have some of that too and I think we could kill it in the ring together again if given the chance.
Do you feel you get more freedom in ROH as opposed to WWE? Amazing, I found a new energy, life, I had so many more ideas and so many people around me inspiring me and sparking that passion in me again and giving me more freedom to focus on wrestling than time limits and more opportunities to wrestle longer singles matches, something I hadn’t done in years. I’m finally getting to show how good I can be. Not to take a shot at the WWE as I loved my time there but everything is much stricter there and that’s how it is. Now I’m here, not really for anyone else but for myself, I wanted to prove to myself I could go further and push harder and surprise myself about how good I can be.
How do you feel Women of Honor and Ring of Honor
as a whole showcases Women’s Wrestling? I aim to bring what I’ve done in WOH and the tournament has shown how much the company are putting behind the women and I hope to be part of pushing boundaries and maybe we’ll see intergender and women in the main event in the near future.
So far in your career, a title has alluded you. What would
WORDS: VICTORIA TEZANGI | PHOTO: BRUNO SILVEIRA
5 POST WWE MATCHES THAT PROVE TENILLE IS A STAR n late 2017, it was announced that the WWE had released Australian superstar Emma and the news divided fan opinion greatly! Despite her poor booking, Emma had gone down by many as one of the leading faces in the women’s Evolution with matches against Paige arguably kick-starting a movement that would completely change women’s wrestling forever. Many have argued about how underutilized Emma was during her time with the WWE and since her departure, she has been proving to the world exactly why that statement may just be true. Working matches against some of the biggest and best names on the scene Emma, now Tenille Dashwood has set the women’s independent wrestling scene on fire including a debut for ROH and so today we are going to be looking at five post-WWE matches the rising star has been a part of that you should definitely check out!
I
VS ANGELINA LOVE
it mean to eventually get there? It would be incredible but everything happens for a reason and not getting there immediately pushes you further and still not having had that does that, I hope to get there one day but after all this hard work, it’s going to be so much sweeter so I’ll keep working hard.
Personally, I do believe that Tenille Dashwood’s standout match not only since her departure with the WWE but quite possible of her entire career has been against Angelina Love. While the two had never met in the ring before this date they managed to work extremely well together matching one another perfectly. Even throughout the match, it was rare one was in control of the action for a great deal of time before the other had a counter waiting just around the corner. Identical in size, skill, and use of mind games the two women delivered a brilliant one-on-one contest full of solid spots and storytelling that left the match genuinely feeling like the main event and big attraction of the night. It was difficult to tell who exactly would walk away with the victory and after several close calls, those final moments perfectly concluded what was quite possibly one of the best matches women’s wrestling has seen.
VS BRANDI RHODES Now, unlike the majority of matches, we will be talking about today this isn’t a one-on-one full of excellent ring work from two competitors, however, what this match did do was allow Tenille to show herself to be a true veteran. Working against an opponent with less experience Tenille brought all the character to this bout against Brandi Rhodes. Mocking and laughing at the still fairly new star that is Brandi, Tenille was the confident rookie in control of the action, however, when the tables turned Dashwood did an excellent job in putting Rhodes over selling moves well
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 27
TENILLE DASHWOOD
and telling a story through facial expression, move set, and in-ring physiology. This may not have been the strongest technical match but it was an interesting and revealing bout in the ROH Women of Honor Championship tournament.
VS SUMIE SAKAI Taking a look at another match from the ROH Women of Honor Championship tournament and we have the singles bout between Tenille Dashwood and Sumie Sakai entering this list. Now, this may not have been a personal favourite of mine, but it sure has been a matchup which has stood out in the career of Tenille Dashwood so far. As a semi-final of the tournament, this was a close call and many did have Dashwood down as their favourite for the win, however, despite her efforts, size advantage and solid performance she was unable to score the victory against veteran Sumie Sakai. It was evident how much both women wanted this win and the tough, back and forth battle they worked made for another career standout for both women.
VS RACHAEL ELLERING Rachael Ellering is a standout performer on the indie scene and was highlighted during last year’s WWE Mae Young Classic. With a brilliant career ahead of her she is one to watch out for in the future and her singles bout against Tenille
28 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
Dashwood is a sure must see proving this point yet again! Unlike many of the matches we have spoken about today this was a more entertaining contest rather than a serious, personal one-on-one. The two were yet again evenly matched and their styles complimented each other very well! Including the fact Lance Storm was the special guest referee and you have a ring full of extremely talented stars of the industry.
VS TONI STORM Toni Storm has one heck of a career ahead of her. At only twentytwo years old she is raising the bar and setting the standards and in a one-on-one contest against Tenille Dashwood, she proved that point once again, however, let’s not forget about Dashwood herself. The two young women squared off in what was an intense, physical contest, jam-packed full of brilliant wrestling. It was here Dashwood really did show the world that she
is worthy of being considered as one of the best female wrestlers on the scene today. Holding her own against a multi-time world champion the two were evenly matched throughout and in return fans were left genuinely hooked from start to finish. This is only one of two matches on today’s list where we didn’t see Tenille pick up the victory but it’s, in fact, this bout that has been the most revealing and important since her departure with the WWE. It’s evident from the matches above and so many more that Tenille Dashwood is a fantastic talent the WWE just didn’t use correctly. She may no longer be under a World Wrestling Entertainment contract, but she is providing wrestling entertainment to a very high standard around the world proving her critiques wrong on a daily basis. Making such an impact already, the future is very bright for Tenille and I believe we will be seeing much much more of her in the weeks, months, and years that will follow.
CM PUNK
WORDS: BRADLEY TIERNAN | PHOTO: JERRY SWIATEK
SHOULD CM PUNK RETURN TO THE RING?
C
M Punk might have proven that he’s better than the WWE, but has he proven he’s better than the wrestling industry as a whole?
In this subjective world, we’re allowed to be hypocrites. After all, I initially thought Punk was a sellout for joining UFC. Of course, Dana White uses the same tricks as Vince McMahon when it comes to selling his product; they tell a story to generate further interest in the fight, whether it be orchestrated or not. So when ‘Chick Magnet Punk’ lambasted an overly-scripted programme like WWE, I felt it somewhat ironic when he eventually joined UFC. Yet, given time to think about it, I’ve come to realise he’s more “punk rock” than ever for doing what he believes is best for himself, even if WE don’t think it’s what’s best. Guys like Cody Rhodes and even DDP are proof that WWE is not the pinnacle of one’s career, in or out of the squared circle. Having forged a career over in NJPW, Cody is now the hottest name in wrestling alongside the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Highlighting the fact, you can make just as much (if not more) money by marketing yourself properly once life with WWE comes to an end. Similarly, Diamond Dallas Page has also had great success away from WWE as a yoga instructor. The former WCW champion has
gone on to develop a yoga fitness program, taking it from a book into a series of workout videos, where he also contributed towards the rehabilitation of both Jake Roberts and Scott Hall. We can’t ignore the fact Punk suffered far worse than anyone has with the company and his reasons for not wanting to wrestle again are certainly justified. During the recent defamation trial, it became very clear how much his treatment in WWE impacted his decision to walk away from sports entertainment in 2014. It’s on record that he isn’t remotely interested in wrestling again, and that period of his life physically and mentally broke him. Even so, this still doesn’t stop people from speculating about his future. Punk has now lost 2 straight matches within the UFC, all but surely confirming he is no longer a star attraction for the company. His age and lack of experience compared to even newcomers to the circuit (seriously, most of them already have black belts in some disciplines), demonstrates that the odds of him ever winning a professional match in the UFC are very slim at best. Despite his personal achievements of creating what he feels is a better life for himself, there are those (looking at you Corey Graves) who believe the former Ring of Honor star has turned his back on friends by sticking with UFC.
Whether you like him or not, the man’s name is a huge draw in pro wrestling. His creative genius alone would be enough to see him work well in NJPW or ROH as a booker, commentator or trainer. Let’s not forget how great his mic work is. And I’m not even talking about that Pipebomb. His time at the Raw announce desk from November to December 2010 is one of the highlights of his tenure within the corporation, and more than suggests he is capable of play-by-play analysis as part of the English speaking commentary team in Japan. Easing his way back into the business with a relaxed schedule as a talent scout or booker might give Punk a newfound appreciation of the finer things he used to enjoy about wrestling. As September draws near, All In weekend will be a good indication of how he truly feels about the business as a whole and not just the WWE who certainly did their best to distort his opinion on the sport he grew to resent. For as long as CM Punk remains outside of wrestling, people will speculate about his future. He might eventually come to the conclusion that he was born to be a pro wrestler or be content on chasing his first UFC win. We should respect his decision whatever he goes on to do, as he’s worked damn hard to get to where he is today.
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 29
ALICIA ATOUT
WORDS: STEPH FRANCHOMME | PHOTO: AMBY
INTERVIEW: IMPACT’S ALICIA ATOUT mpact Wrestling recently announced the signing of backstage interviewer Alicia Atout. We had the chance to chat with Alicia:
I
“I’ve been a wrestling fan forever. When the music side of things got bigger, I decided ‘why not try a wrestling interview?’ and I did. It was fantastic and then I started going to a lot of local shows which turned into me, attending and doing promo work for BCW in Windsor, which is actually the company founded by Impact Wrestling’s very own Scott D’Amore. So I did a lot of backstage promos for them, had a couple of shows. Then him and I just kind of started talking. I’ve been brought on for the latest tapings which actually happened in Windsor and my debut is happening this Thursday which I’m very excited about. I’m also going to be at Slammiversary hosting a lot of interviews and backstage promos.” “Impact is super supportive, which is one of the best parts about working with them. I love the company and I love my website so I don’t have to stop doing either of the things that I love. I think I have a very conversational and calm style of interviewing which makes the talent on the other end feel very comfortable around me,
30 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
which is something that I’m really proud of. A lot of Impact talents are friends of mine but there’s a lot of them I’m getting to know. The fact that we have those relationships makes it very easy to just come to work the tapings. I feel like that’s something that I bring to the table and it’s something that transitions extremely easily.”
the women’s revolution in the ring has influenced this other revolution around and outside the ring. “I feel like we’re able to empower one another, not just in the locker room. You don’t see too many female backstage hosts, like on the Indies per se, but I feel like there’s that kind of camaraderie that can make it happen.”
Being taken seriously when you’re a 23-year-old woman trying to interview wrestlers is not the easiest thing. “There are some people who just thought ‘oh she’s young, she might not even like wrestling, she’s just another pretty face’. That really got to me because I’ve been a wrestling fan since I was like two or three years old and I have not stopped watching it since. So when people talk that way and you walk in somewhere and they think ‘oh she’s not going to really know anything’, of course, that’s something I had to deal with. Being younger, there was nothing I wanted to do more than than to prove those people wrong. That’s why, going into my interviews, I make sure they’re extremely well-researched. I go in and I want that person sitting across from me to be like ‘she knows her stuff’ and luckily that’s what’s been happening.”
Impact Wrestling has been a pioneer when it comes to giving women the power to be wrestling actors. But is what they have done for wrestlers be valuable for interviewers? “Absolutely. I feel like they’re not creating it, I feel like they are a part of it. When I think of a revolution I don’t just think of one specific company, I think of it as in all the women, whether it’s major or Indies in wrestling. I feel like it’s like one massive thing and when I’m at Impact, whether I’m in the locker room backstage with all of the girls, whether I’m working promo with the girls, there’s such a camaraderie and everyone’s just so good at what they do like. I don’t know what else a revolution would be aside from a bunch of incredible people who are talented, beautiful, incredible in the ring and outside of the ring coming together and just putting their all into their craft”.
Atout is pointing out the fact that, a long time ago, it was not easy to be a wrestling fan as a woman. Some were not even coming to live events. But luckily times have changed. And
Watch IMPACT every week completely FREE on Spike, Fight Network UK + GWNapp
RUSEV
WORDS: JAMES TOAL | PHOTO: WWE
“I LEARNED THAT I’M ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD” OUR CHAT WITH RUSEV he Bulgarian Brute (previously Russian, forget that though) finally made his name known in the WWE as he faces off with none other than AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules. Not only due to his work ethic and the fan backing behind #RusevDay, but the wait seems to have finally paid off for this fan favourite superstar as he prepares for what some people are hoping to be his best match yet.
T
Fortunately, Steelchair has managed to chat with Rusev before his upcoming match to get his thoughts and feelings towards Sunday night, and even to get comments on some of the interesting moments he’s been involved with during his WWE career. The conversation got started with a reminder of how far Rusev Day as a brand has come. The one-off joke snowballed into merch, a loveable catchphrase, and even bringing the operatic Aiden English along for the ride. Rusev commented on the phenomenon. “It’s amazing to see how far Rusev Day has gone. It came out of nowhere, but at the end of the day people are keeping it alive and
32 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
people are making it bigger than it was supposed to be so thanks to them that all of this is happening.” It should be safe to say, even though the Rusev Day train has helped secure a championship opportunity with AJ Styles, it hasn’t been the smoothest of rides. There’s been ups and downs with Rusev’s momentum have been inconsistent, to say the least. WWE does have a past with its own talent getting creative and getting over by their own volition, just look to Zack Ryder for the prime example of how this can be shown at it’s worst. But, it seems that there must’ve been a compromise down the line as Rusev thanks the #RusevDay movement for his success, has it helped him? “100% yes, I’ve been on the main roster for four and a half, close to five years now. I’ve faced the best in the business, everybody from Cena, to Undertaker, Triple H, and all of them. I have never had an opportunity to go for eh world heavyweight championship before and now thanks to Rusev day, this is happening...When I [debuted], I started with an undefeated streak for a year. It was a miracle why I never had an opportunity before. But, I’m a patient man I waited long enough and now I’m finally here and not going to let anybody down or leave anybody disappointed by the end of the match.”
Speaking of not letting people down, the conversation shifted towards of Rusev’s biggest matches to date. At the Greatest Royal Rumble (greater in terms of numbers I presume) He took on The Undertaker in a Casket match, a match that surprised everyone in terms of how good it turned out to be in quality left many questions hanging in the air. One of the key questions being, how do you react when you’re told you’re facing one of the most iconic men in wrestling history? “It was definitely something I never expected to happen. when I was told that, I nearly laughed when he told me I was going to face The Undertaker I laughed at him. That tells you that I didn’t expect this
"I nearly laughed when he told me I was going to face The Undertaker"
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 33 25
RUSEV
match, but it’s definitely a dream come true. I’ve been watching the Undertaker when he first debuted, he’s one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time. It was a great opportunity for me, for my resume, and for my confidence to know that I can hang with anybody in the ring.” One of the stranger elements to this match didn’t even happen during the event itself, prior match announcements shifted until we didn’t know if Rusev was actually going to face The Undertaker or if Chris Jericho was going to take his place. Rusev enlightened us all when he divulged his side of the story. “There were so many different rumours, it’s just that I was supposed to face him which was advertised. Just seeing how people were reacting to Rusev day and how people were behind it. I guess that caught [Vince] a little bit of
34 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
guard and he thought that it might be better not to, so it was changed to Jericho. But then [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] called and said ‘Hey Vince, you promised Rusev, I want Rusev I don’t need this freakin’ Jericho’ so I was back in the match.” Seemingly Rusev Day was going to be an issue for some of the higher-ups in WWE, but thankfully a quick call from the prince of Saudi Arabia managed to make them see sense... I’m only just realising how weird that sentence was to write in 2018. With the conversation drawing to a close, we found it best to end with a lesson. We asked what was the most important thing that Rusev had learned after his match with a legend in the industry, Rusev had this to say “I learned that I’m one of the best in the world let’s put it that way. I’ve learned that I can go in
there, I don’t have to know whats happening, we can just go in, have fun, have a 20-minute match and that’s it.” Rusev undoubtedly has grown so much during his time in WWE. He’s only gotten better as time has gone and now it seems like his hard work is finally being realised as he continues on his path in the company. What will be next for him? Will he become an even bigger force in the wrestling world? all we know for sure that in the future it will for certain be another etch in the calendar and once again be Rusev Day.
WORDS: TONY QUANT | PHOTO: WWE
EXTREME RULES
There is no denying this month’s moment of the month goes hands down to Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman from WWE Extreme Rules. After cuffing Strowman to the ropes, Kevin Owens took great pleasure in gloating in the face of his opponent before Strowman was able to break free and chase Owens to the top of the cage. But what come next was nothing short of spectacular and had flashbacks of Mankind Vs Taker at KOTR 1998. Strowman grabbed Owens round the throat before throwing him off of the cage and straight through the announcers table.
MOMENT OF THE MONTH: EXTREME RULES: BRAUN VS KEVIN OWENS AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 35
SOCAL VAL
S
WORDS: LEE HAZELL | PHOTO: WOS
oCal Val is in a huge position right now. Beginning her career in sports
entertainment in 2002, she is perhaps most famous for being an on-screen talent for Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling. A decade later she finds herself commanding the largest audience a full-time, female, professional wrestling commentator has ever spoken to as a part of the new-look World of Sport. She brings the Californian sunshine to this drizzly little island and all the glitz and glamour that comes with it. We had the honour to talk to Val about her brand-new gig at WOS Wrestling and the prestige, the honour and the responsibility that comes with it.
How did you get involved with WOS? I actually met Alex Shane through WrestleTalk. It was one of the first wrestling promotional shows that I did when I came here. My sister lives in London. She’s lived here for about 15 years. I’ve been visiting mainly London, but different parts of England for about seven or eight years, about two times a year, and I’d moved here about two-and-a-half years ago. I got married a little over a year ago, so I’m now a resident, but before that, I’ve always been obsessed with British culture and monarchy and architecture and I’ve just always loved England. So for me, it was just a dream to
36 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018
WOS WRESTLING’S SOCAL VAL be able to have an excuse to come over here with my sister who lives here also. Then, when I moved over here – you know, it’s weird. My transition coming from the US to the UK is about the exact same time when British wrestling just really exploded. I don’t count myself as the reason, I count myself lucky I was there to experience that resurgence. How exciting that I was there for that because I’ve been in wrestling since March 2002. It’s been about 16 years, or so and I’ve seen a lot in America, I did a lot in Canada as well, but the UK scene is just a hotbed for talent.
What is the difference between working for set series and working in a more live environment?
What’s exciting about the ITV experience, is that as much as we love wrestling fans that are diehard fans – I’m a loyal diehard wrestling fan, ever since I was annoying my mother by watching too much wrestling. She kept saying, “Val, this is becoming obsessive.” I said, “Well Mom, all I want to do is watch wrestling.” So, as much as we love fans like that and me being one of them, what I think is really cool is what ITV brings to the table. It’s going to be with mainstream audiences and specifically it’s going to be with families. I love the fact that there’s going to be kids watching it. There’s going to be granny watching it at home. For me, it’s such an honour to be a female commentator because I was a young girl of about 10 or 11 years’ old going into the living room – my sister was watching wrestling,
just casually – and I watched it and I went, “Wow, who are these strong female characters? I want to be like them.” So to think that because of ITV, and the audience they’re opening us up to, there could be little girls who had nothing to do with sports – I had nothing to do with sports, I’m not athletic, I don’t watch football or anything – so if there’s a little girl that’s growing like I was (I still am), it’s cool to think that maybe she’ll watch World of Sport and go, “Wow, there’s a girl like Val that I could be like? I can hold my own with the guys?” How great is that?
That’s good because apparently, World of Sport are going to be taking women’s wrestling very seriously. Thank you for bringing that up. Hiring a female commentator has never been done, at least to this extent, ever in wrestling. Ever. E-VE-R, ever. No pressure, Val. It’s an amazing thing. I think that shows you first-hand how serious they’re taking women in wrestling and their impact and the voice they have in wrestling, firstly. Secondly, the places that they scoured to find the females that we have, they looked far and wide. They honed in on the best female wrestlers that the UK has to offer. Girls like Viper, girls like Kay Lee Ray. A very diverse group as well, which is very important to me, because they’re not just your cookie-cutter, little blonde (no offence to blondes)
types but there is a very diverse range of strong females. They’re tough girls and a lot of them are very feminine still. They show a lot of range. So, going forward, the women’s division – I almost just want to shake my fist at those who just go, “Oh, there’s not a lot females yet.” Just wait and see. If there’s any reason to tune in, it’s the fact that we are championing women in wrestling, which for me as a girl’s girl, and as a girl in wrestling is just the coolest thing in the world. That’s favourite part.
What’s it like to share the commentary desk with Alex Shane and Stu Bennett? Oh my gosh. Well, somebody asked me on Twitter, “What’s your chemistry like?” I said, “Well, it can be combustible.” Alex Shane to my right is the consummate professional. Frist of all, he’s so much fun. You’ll notice that I use his name a lot in commentary but if I’m just having a normal conversation with him, it’s almost like he and I are just watching wrestling as buddies and I’m like, “Whoa, did you see that Alex?” It’s just an amazing camaraderie. Stu can be controversial at times. He can be ornery at times. Yeah, I’ll use the word ‘ornery’. He’s not listening is he? You have to give it to him that this guy has been a superstar for years. He’s someone I always looked up to in WWE. He’s always been amazing. He has the knowhow, he has the experience, he has the talent, he has the charisma to be in the position that is WOS
Executive. Hands down, he’s the perfect choice for that. I can’t say I’ve agreed with every one of his executive decisions but as a commentator, he’s absolutely, super professional.
Finally, what are your ambitions for WOS Wrestling? If I could put it very bluntly, I know that I’m a person from wrestling and I’ve been in the bubble. I’m happy to admit that I am a wrestling fan first and foremost. My wish is that it becomes more of the norm for people to watch wrestling every Saturday night. From ages 0 to 100, I want everyone in the family to be able to watch it. That’s what I love most about this programme. I’ve been involved in a lot of promotions and things like that, but what’s so cool and exciting and hopeful about this one is that everyone can watch it and it’s something that I think different generations will get to bond over. World of Sport was on from 1965 to 1985 and they say, “Oh, my gran loved it,” or, “Oh, I loved watching it,” but they’ve been so devoid of wrestling they’re hungry for it. Now, we’re giving them that and I hope that they take it and they share it with generations young and old. Again, not to sound cheesy, but I’m so thrilled to be a part of that. We’ll cheers to that.
Watch WOS Wrestling on ITV every Saturday at 5pm AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 37
GO-HOME SHOW
WORDS: ALAN BOON | PHOTO: WWE
GO-HOME SHOW WITH ALAN BOON
eople of Earth, I come with a message. Two messages, actually, but that’s not as snappy an opening, is it? No, it isn’t, but we are where we are, and I do have two messages for you.My first message is simple: No-one can tell you what wrestling you shouldn’t watch. Now this might seem a bit of a nonsense statement, and if so then I envy you and wish you continued happiness in your life away from the naysayers. But for the rest of us, those who live on Planet Wrestling, with all the attendant forums, social media, and – well – magazines like this one, it can be a tough existence.
P
Telling people what they should watch is great. Not everybody watches everything (which I’ll come to later), and there are bound to be things that slip under your radar. So, yeah, recommend away! Tell me that Isami Kodaka versus Masashi Takeda had a BANGER which left them both bloodied! Sell me on Tyler Bate taking on Will Ospreay at Fight Club: PRO in a clash of WWE versus New Japan! Pimp the hell out of the latest Tomasso Ciampa/Johnny Gargano war! All that is great. What’s not great is piling into people for what they do watch. For example, WWE are not going to win any awards for human rights, their treatment of their employees can be abhorrent, and their principal owners fund and support the Trump presidency, and those are great reasons that you shouldn’t watch any of their output. However, this is purely my view, and something I’ve wrestled my conscience over for the past few years. Your mileage will vary, and while you may also agree with my view of their stain on the planet, you may be more pragmatic about it. You may also think that it makes no difference, or even think that working with corrupt
24 STEELCHAIR AUGUST 2018 38
regimes, withholding employee rights under the guise of “independent contractors”, and pumping millions into Trump’s campaign (as well as serving in his cabinet) is a good thing, and that’s fine, too. I mean, we’re not going to be friends, but it’s all cool. More notably, there’s also been a movement lately to boycott certain wrestlers for their behaviour, views, or even associations. Sometimes that’s trying to get them blackballed, other times it’s just not buying a ticket for any show they’re advertised on. You might see people leaving during their matches, or turning their backs or making rude gestures. And if you venture onto Twitter – top tip, DON’T venture onto Twitter – you’ll see the outrage exploding in real time. The offences committed by these wrestlers vary. Some have been convicted of serious criminal offences, while others have in all probability done the same kind of thing without actually being charged by the police for it. Some might have objectionable views on sexuality, race, or gender, or they might just have expressed support for anyone accused of any of the above. There’s a whole smorgasbord of offences, and while it’s not difficult to avoid them if you’re a decent human being, there are some very decent human beings who get caught up in things. Shouty people will tell you that you can’t watch these people. They will tell you that supporting them – or supporting any promotion that books them – gives a green light to this sort of behaviour. And they may be right. But again, it’s a matter for your own conscience. If you want to go to a show that features a wrestler who was arrested for domestic violence, but not charged, then that’s your decision. I have – and have not – decided to boycott shows on those grounds myself. I will not think less of anyone making a reasoned argument for going to a show, even if that argument essentially boils down
to, “I just want some distraction from the Hell Dimension that the world in 2018 has become.” Neither should you let anyone belittle your choice of wrestling. Sure, WWE can’t hold a candle to New Japan in terms of pure wrestling spectacle, and its storylines sometimes want to make you claw your eyeballs out in frustration (seriously, how long are we going along with this Roman thing?), but if you enjoy watching it then that’s fine. It’s your time, it’s your wrestling. Enjoy what you like. My second message is also simple: You don’t have to watch everything. Seriously, there’s too much wrestling. You physically cannot watch everything you probably should so stop worrying. There are NINE hours of new WWE programming every week (more with PPVs and Takeovers), and that’s before you even start to look at Japan, Mexico, the indies, or the UK. Not watching everything does not make you less of a fan. It doesn’t even really make you less of an authority, because even Dave Meltzer (whose job it is to watch wrestling) doesn’t watch everything, and he’s as near as we get to a font of all knowledge. Pick and choose. Don’t hate-watch (unless that’s your thing, in which case carry on). Find your wrestling happy place – your grappy place? – and spend your free time there. Being a wrestling fan shouldn’t be hard work, it should be fun. BE FUN.
AUGUST 2018 STEELCHAIR 25