With their biggest event of the year now in the rear view mirror DJ Hyde and CZW now look forward to 2016. At this point CZW will not be holding any live events in January as management will use the time to figure out his plans and creative strategy for the promotion. Hyde is looking for new talents and thinks that the time after the biggest show of the year is the right time for a break. Due to several wrestlers have left which resulted in changes in long term plans.

Currently there are rumors that CZW will likely expand Dojo Wars in 2016. They have been happy with the success of the smaller event and want to go to a larger venue, away from the CZW Academy in Blackwood, NJ. Right now certain talent seem to be on the radar of owner DJ Hyde like Lio Rush who has received a tremendous number of positive reviews recently and their has been talk that Anthony Nese may come into the company next year.

This is unlike anything thing a company has ever done in the wrestling world, I really ​​honestly agree with this logic and think more companies should adopt this process. Having a long term direction for the company and knowledge of were your going makes a noticeable difference in the product just look at the company in Connecticut as perfect example. Planning ahead and knowing where going especially with talent allows talent to keep momentum and get over more, because they feel like they have a purpose in the eyes of the fans rather then just feeling like any other roster member.  

It's actually been a while since I last sat down and wrote an installment to this series, but as you can see by the title that changes today. As it's time for another look at the lost art of roles in wrestling. Last time we looked at one of the most famous enhancement talents in the history of the WWE that being Steve "Brooklyn Brawler" Lombardi. This time around we are going to change things up and instead will be heading back a little further to find one of the only teams I know of to actually be employed by a couple of companies as nothing more than enhancement talents.

The team I am referring to is the team of Bill and Randy the Mulkey Brothers. This brothers duo were I think a very successful pair or at least good at what they do, because they began their careers in Georgia before moving on to greener pastures in the Mid-Atlantic region with Jim Crockett Promotions. It was here when the Mulkey Brothers actually got their biggest I don't want to say push but maybe just gimmick change. As the losing streak for the Mulkey Brothers became their gimmick and it was talked about every time they appeared on TV.

These two brothers were unlike any other jobbers partially because they had no professional training under their belts before they actually got in the ring. Which is a very old school thing as most young workers back then only got a few months to train before moving to a more on the job training approach and some just went completely on the job training. That means new workers would learn in the ring and most of the time would learn from a veteran in the locker room how to work and run the ring during a match. By the end of their careers the Mulkey Brothers got over with the crowds and some fans even wanted to see them win. Remember this is when the fans just enjoyed the show and weren't looking for something to complain about or try to dictate how much weight their opinions should carry. Things change and sadly the idea of something like the Mulkey Brothers seems to be a lost art much like the Roles that used to exist in pro-wrestling.  

At the start of this I mentioned how this was the largest post I have ever done and the fact that there was 4 parts for one question should give enough evidence as to how this post was. Now we move forward to what I believe is the last part to the biggest fan interaction post I have done. Thank you to all those who helped in anyway to with this the largest fan interaction post I have ever done before. So now let's jump right into it:

Question: Does pro-wrestling have your respect?

Danny: Does pro wrestling have my respect, well when they made Rollins champ they did. But them shoving Roman Reigns down our throats made me lose respect for them. Yes I still watch WWE and I love it, but when they don't give what the fans want then idk why we bother to watch 3 hours. That's why their ratings suck. Let's go back to 2010. Nexus was going to be the biggest thing to hit WWE, instead Cena buries all of them and they lose their credibility. Barrett easily could've been WWE champ but Cena buried him.
Then I lost respect when I went to MANIA 29. My brother is a huge fan of Sandow and when they cut his match he was devastated. Also having Rock and Cena again and fans knowing Cena was gonna win was bull. Punk also should've beaten taker. If not that hell have him in the main event. He was the longest reigning champ in recent memory. They treated him like crap and they let him go on his wedding day. So I can say for now WWE doesn't have my respect, but they can still get it back.

Tony: Pro-wrestling will always be known. I think there is a respect it. It goes a bit silently but pro wrestling has been successful for many years, hard to not respect it. I personally was a huge fan growing up. I respect it and think it is amazing. It will never go down.

Christelle: Of course. They work very hard to make these very physical shows. I couldn't to do it

Kayla: Yes of course pro-wrestling does!

Scott: while it does as a profession it doesn't really as entertainment because I feel like I am not their target audience.


For more from those listed above:
https://www.facebook.com/floodwire/?pnref=story
https://www.facebook.com/SollySteveOnSports/?fref=nf&pnref=story

We have found our way back after changing things up we are back to normal as far as this series goes as today is about celebrating and not remembering. As always I would like to wish a happy birthday to all who are celebrating on this day and not just those I have chosen to include in this post.

Happy Birthday to Brimstone who turns 42 years old today

Happy Birthday to Apollo Crews who turns 29 years old today

Happy Birthday to "Precious" Paul Ellering 63 years old today

After a long winded first question where a wide variety of names gave their opinion on the idea of pro-wrestling being respected by mainstream media or not. We now move to the second part of this fan opinion post and that means we move to our next question. The next question is a very simple and open question:

Does Pro-wrestling have your respect?

​Highflying Fantana: It's not a question of if wrestling has my respect , it's the fact wrestling is respect. Youre giving back to those individuals in life who always dreamed of steeping thru the curtins to entertain the loyal fans paying their hard earned money. Some of those people may have sold something valuable to them so they can partake in the 2/3 hour event that night. So to answer your question if wrestling has my respect... Not the wrestling thing... The boys and girls in the back travelling the crazy storms and horrer stories and how they put there bodies on the line. And them loyal fans who pay. Something is never given in my eyes especially respect and trust ... That's something that's got to be earned. Pro wrestling has its toles but in the end I do it for that child who everyday when he/she wakes up, they pray to step thru the ropes but is scared to because people call them Pro Wrestlers fake/small/to young whatever the case may be, that causes that person to grow up sitting in there career job at 65 years old wishing he still had that life time dream of stepping thru the curtains to entertain. Thank you for taking the time to read. My name is Highflying Fantana and I respect Pro Wrestling.

​Tracy: My respect? It has my respect now. In the 80s and 90s it seemed more circus like and the pros were into steriods. Now, you have my respect as the pros have made it about family, kids, and athletic... no more steroids (hopefully) and many charity causes and it is something to bring your kids to to see there favorite role model

Gina Bean: Absolutely. Sometimes I think people who don't understand pro wrestling will always categorize as fake simply because there is story attached to it. The art of wrestling is truly amazing and I could never do what those men and women do. They sacrifice their time and bodies for our entertainment and the wrestlers work hard. It will always have my respect and I wish more people understood although it may be scripted or the outcome may be predetermined, what the athletes do is 100 percent real.

​Anthony Walker: I have been a Wrestling Fan all My Life. And Through Good The Bad and Th Ugly Pro Wrestling Has always had my Respect I will always love pro wrestling till the day i die #WrestlingMatters

Chris Cooper: Yes wrestling has my respect all ways

Jeff: It has my respect in terms of the skill and risk involved. While some people may just see it as something staged, people do need to realize that without proper training, one can really get hurt.

​Thomas: Yes. I respect the physical demands that it takes and I truly feel that it is a sport like any other. The theatrical effect can give the illusion that it is all fake, which can lead to some people not respecting it. Anyone who has ever trained for a sport understands the hard work and dedication it takes to reach the professional level.

A few days ago was the 19 year anniversary of one of the most brutal matches in mainstream wrestling between Sabu and Terry Funk. Due to how their match ended Sabu walked or should I say was helped into Hardcore Heaven that weekend as the World Champion. On the card we saw a 3 way dance between Sabu, Terry Funk and Shane Douglas for the ECW World Championship. Also on this card we saw the culmination of a "war" as the WWF fought ECW.

​For months leading up to the show we saw Bill Alfonso lead the likes of RVD and Sabu into a WWF ring and carry around a WWF flag and lay it on Tommy Dreamer more then once. One night in the ECW arena we saw a very shocking moment when Jerry Lawler made his presence felt by shocking the south Philly faithful and attacking Tommy Dreamer.

​This feud was one of the main reasons why ECW was a cult classic and really tapped into a market unlike the other two companies even when the WWE went full blown Attitude Era. Though the company may not have reached as far as it could have but it did fill a great niche when the company was at it's peak.
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Back again we have found our way to once again giving the spotlight to those who are celebrating there birthday's on this day. To those who may not be mentioned in the post below, I would still like to wish you a very a Happy Birthday!


​Happy Birthday to Spike Dudley who turns 46 years old
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Happy Birthday to Terry Taylor who turns 61 years old
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Happy Birthday to ESPN analyst Johnathan "The Coach" Coachman who turns 44 years old

A few weeks ago I spoke about starting up a new series where I took a look at talent who many of us fans believe to have untapped potential. I developed the idea for this series after the most recent string of WWE releases or as some people call it the most recent case of spring cleaning. If you have been living under rock then let explain as over the course of two weeks around 10 or 11 names were released from their WWE contracts. This number is probably on the higher end then it has been in recent years. In this first edition of the series we will take a look at one man who at one point got himself over just by being different and working hard to “get over” without the office.

This WWE wrestlers name is the “Long Iced Z” and the only Internet Champion in history Zack Ryder. I know what you are going to say “Oh no not another Zack Ryder fan boy” well before you jump to a conclusion just hear me out. Back in 2011 Zack Ryder was the CM Punk of yesteryear as anytime the crowd got bored they’d chant “We Want Ryder” and eventually WWE did actually take notice.  During the year we saw WWE take the feud that developed on Z True Long Island Story and between Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder and moved it to TV for the United States Title. These guys had chemistry together in the ring the likes of which we rarely see in the modern era; no they weren’t on the levels of a Flair vs Steamboat match but still they were really good.

After months of trying and getting knocked down Zack would finally capture the United States Title from Dolph Ziggler at TLC 2011 and the crowd went bananas. Sadly in less than 6 months not only did Zack lose the US title but he was made into nothing more than a joke. Hindsight being what it is I would have to say that at the time Zack’s in-ring skill left a lot to be desired as far as fluidity and just the idea of him being a top guy.
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Though many people both backstage and in the audience were disappointed by how WWE pulled the rug out from Zack too soon and I was one of them. However, I can understand why they did I just don’t know why they had to do it over such a short period of time and make him into such a joke without getting any shred of revenge or anything of that nature. Overall I do believe if Zack was booked a little smarter during this time he wouldn’t be so hard to take seriously if he was given a bigger role, but because of the crummy booking he had to deal with now it is a lot harder to take him seriously.
 
 
Note:
I do realize they gave Zack the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania this past April, but I would guess the only reason why was in my book to through the fans off and shock them with the winner. Everyone knows that WWE is normally very predictable so why wouldn’t they want to do something that we aren’t expecting to surprise us on the biggest show of the year. I also believe that it is possible that The Miz was supposed to capture the IC Title at WrestleMania but instead they gave it to him the next night on Raw to give Zack Ryder is moment. In many ways even though it was a short reign it still somewhat made up for the crappy booking that Zack had to deal with 5 years ago when the Long Iced Z first started to heat up.

It has taken a little bit but we have hit the last part built around the first question for the biggest fan interaction post I have ever done. I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in this fan interaction post. It is a good indication for me to see who likes letting their voice be heard.

Question: Will pro-wrestling ever be respected by main stream media?

Thomas: Yes. I respect the physical demands that it takes and I truly feel that it is a sport like any other. The theatrical effect can give the illusion that it is all fake, which can lead to some people not respecting it. Anyone who has ever trained for a sport understands the hard work and dedication it takes to reach the professional level.

Rob: I think it has mainstream media's respect cause of the popularity it holds and the long famous history. It's shown that they have boosted out superstars that not only are wrestlers but also became movie stars. I mean look at The Rock, wrestling star turned movie star. It wont have true true respect from everyone because it is scripted and often predictable.

DWIPodcast: In a nutshell...no lol

GT: Probably not , they mock it all the time, and they're too PG to give wrestling attention

Jon Couture: All that being said, I don't see PW ever totally being accepted and competing with the likes of, say, the NFL in this country.  And to be honest, I am okay with that.  PW was founded on a "carny" mentality and I think it should stay that way.  Its why listening to alternative music is cooler than listening to pop music.  Its why seeing a great indie film is usually better than the Oscar nominations. 

PW may not be liked by everyone but at some level it should be respected by everyone.  Especially today's product that has evolved to so much more than jacked up good guys vs. dirty bad guys.  It is performance art at a very very high level.


For more those listed above:
http://www.smarknmark.com/

Back again with another post giving the spotlight to a wide variety of talent instead of just a small number of talent. Either way though this time it will be special as we will be really picking three very different people to send birthday wishes this time around. I would like to wish some talent a Happy Birthday and send the same wishes to every talent that also has their big day on this day today.


 
Harry Smith who turns 31 years old today

D-Von Dudley who turns 44 years old today

Jimmy “Bunkhouse Buck” Golden who turns 66 years old today
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