Results – BDW – 6/6/10

BDW Results – 6/6/10
Eagle’s Hall
Moundsville, WV
7th Anniversary Show
Attendance: 200 (Sell-out)

1) Blue Dragon def. Grea Cingsley by pinfall
2) Rock Lobster & Bouncer def. RP Williams & Terry Ring by pinfall
3) Alex Arkadian def. Travis Fame by pinfall
4) Dash Bennett def. Bulldozer in a “Loser Leaves Town” match
5) Dan Sandwich NC Nick Mirra
6) Zero def. Jason Cage and Chest Flexor in a tables match (BDW Diamond)
7) Violence Inc. def. Straight Jacket Mafia by pinfall (BDW Tag)
Jason Gory def. Nikita Allanov by pinfall (BDW Heavy)

Justin Idol was injured the day before in a match, so my match with Arkadian was switched, and I got another shot at the championship held by Gory for nearly two years. During the second match one of the cross beams under the ring snapped, so I came out and did an interview with Tony Summers, and I stated that if I did not walk out as the BDW Champion after my match tonight, I wouldn’t challenge for it again.
The ring was in bad shape by the time the main event rolled around, so I attacked Gory early and we fought around the ring, down the stairs, and into Jefferson Ave. Gory ended up getting the pin after a top rope double stomp (to the floor) and a swanton bomb. Afterwards, I shook his hand and raised his arm.

With the strong attendance at this show BDW is looking to schedule a July event at this building.

Results – DCW – 6/5/10

DCW Silver Cup Classic Results:

June 5
Limestone YMCA
Springfield, OH
Annual Silver Cup Classic
Attendance: 160

1) Big Jim Hutchinson def. Alex Stone (Rd 1)
2) Matt Ryan def. Alexander Drago (Rd 1)
3) Evan Steel def. Mr. Wrestling III (Rd 1)
4) Shawn Draven def. Monty Montgomery (Rd 1)
5) Big Jim Hutchinson def. Matt Ryan (Semi Final)
6) Evan Steel def. Shawn Draven (Semi Final)
7) Nikita Allanov def. DJ Tom Sharp by KO (BDW Heavy)
Tommy Blaze def. Big Jim Hutchinson & Evan Steel to win the 2010 Silver Cup Classic

I got the win after reversing a rollup by Sharp into a crossface submission. Sharp struggled to get to the ropes, but lost consciousness before he could get there.

As General Manager of DCW, Blaze interjected himself into the finals of the Silver Cup Classic, after Hutchinson pinned Steel. Blaze brutally attacked Hutchinson’s knee with the cup, and Hutchinson had to be taken to the hospital to have his knee checked out.

DCW returns to Piqua on July 17th with a free outdoor event.

Results – BDW in Brilliant, OH – 4/23/10

BDW (23 April) Buckeye North Middle School; Brilliant, OH
Attendance: 200

1) Blue Dragon def. Cingsley by pinfall
2) Dan Sandwich def. Dash Bennett by pinfall
3) Nikita Allanov def. Chris Taylor by pinfall
4) Jason Gory def. Jake Garrett by pinfall (BDW Heavy)
5) Doink def. Lord Zoltan by pinfall
6) Zero def. Facade, Jason Cage, Chest Flexor in a laddermatch (BDW Diamond)
7) Violence Inc. def. Straight Jacket Mafia, ATM, Bouncer & Rock Lobster, and Bulldozer & Officer Norman in a Tower of Terror Match (BDW Tag)

This was a pretty solid show despite a lot of last minute changes. Three Matches that had never happened in BDW before, Nikita/Doe, Devine/Taylor and Kole/Bennett had to be changed due to a variety of travel issues involving Devine/Doe/Kole.
Jake Garrett had a helluva match against Gory, having already announced his retirement after the match win or lose. The wrestlers all came to the ring after the match and gave Garrett a big send off.

In the first match between us since 2006, I got the win over Chris Taylor after a Russian Sickle. Word on the street was that Krystal Frost may have tripped Taylor, but I didn’t see it. Both Frost and Morgan Rockafella got involved in the match, with the ladies actually having both of us in half-crab locks in the center of the ring during the match.

Next BDW event is the Seventh Anniversary show on June 6th – it is the debut of Black Diamond at the Moundsville Eagles. Check back with Wrestle Ohio or at blackdiamondwrestling.com for future information.

Nikita Allanov – I Kinda Feel Like Tony Stark

Change is coming. It is unavoidable. We can either adapt to the change, or die.

Recently, there was a storyline in the Marvel Comics Universe where change was coming, and it was in the form of forcing all super-humans to register with the government, or become outlaws. The heroes all came down on one of two sides – register and give up the way things have always been done, or go outlaw and become one of the criminals that you have always tried to keep off the streets.

Right now, the State of Ohio is on the verge of something similar regarding professional wrestling. There are too many people in this business who should not be, and they have ruined it for everyone else. Now, the Ohio Athletic Commission is on the verge of becoming a more tightly controlled state for professional wrestling.
Right now there are a handful of specific rules in place. The OAC Commissioner Bernie Profato has for years said that he does not want to waste state resources regulating professional wrestling more tightly – he wants the wrestlers and promoters to police themselves.
However, with an increasing number of the shows in the state, the number of calls that come into the OAC have increased. With promoters virtually refusing to comply with the state regulations, Profato feels the OAC is being forced into stepping up regulations to keep things under control.

So, now that the OAC is starting to address things more regularly, the flak is being pointed in the direction of the Fraternal Order of Professional Wrestlers.

The FOPW is a new organization, and it is multi-state. Since the region where the founders live and wrestle is the Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia area, that is where we are initially focusing our attention. We are working on filing all the proper paperwork to become a legal non-profit entity. That takes time.

The idea behind the FOPW is to become a data base and a resource for professional wrestlers, promoters, and even fans to an extent. We want to clean up our sport by giving the legitimate participants a place to go. Pooling resources *can* lead to things like health care, negotiating power, more work, increased revenues, and so on. The idea is to get everyone together regardless of company lines, and become an advocate for what we, as a group of colleagues, believe. Nothing about the FOPW is secretive – in fact, all of the “board members” have filed their real names and addresses with the state (Pennsylvania) in order to qualify as a non-profit organization.

It is also no secret that the FOPW is still in its infant stages, and is still fleshing out what all of our long term hopes and dreams are for this sport. We are still setting goals. The infancy of our organization has not, however, changed what is going on in the State of Ohio, as far as the OAC is concerned.

Right now, the OAC requires this to become a licensed promoter: $200 fee to become a licensed promoter, and a $100 fee for an individual show license, submitted ten days prior to the event. That is it.

The FOPW asked for an received a list of the licensed promoters within the State. There are currently 20 promoters that the state has on file as licensed promoters. According to the state records, there were fifteen wrestling shows granted permits in the month of April – and five of those promoters granted show licenses were not on their list of licensed promoters. That shows a discrepancy in the OAC’s paperwork and record keeping.

The Secretary for the OAC, Judy McCarty, has admitted that they use the website WrestleOhio.com to keep track of what shows are being ran in the state. I write these columns for WrestleOhio. I know the people that run WrestleOhio – they started the website as a way to promote wrestling in Ohio, and they are nervous that the state uses a resource they created to keep tabs on promoters.

Change is coming. On April 8th, the FOPW attended the monthly OAC meeting in Youngstown. Statements made by Mr. Profato at the meeting indicated that the FOPW and Drew Corderro (the promoter of the Cleveland area’a AIW) were the first ever attendees of an OAC meeting representing professional wrestling. The audio from this meeting is available for download at this link.
www.zshare.net/download/75115675374c881e/

In looking to more stringently regulate professional wrestling, the OAC has a number of ideas on the table and are looking for feedback. These ideas include, but are not limited to: Re-instating a bond requirement, increasing license and permit fees, requiring an OAC assigned physician at events, requiring an ambulance/paramedics at the venue, establishing “no competition” zones where two events could not be held on the same date within a 50 mile radius, requiring promoters to turn in what wrestlers/matches will be on their card, and more.

The critics of the OAC are very quick to point out that the OAC has never really done anything to shut down outlaw shows, or force promoters to comply with their regulations. Admittedly, even the examples Mr. Profato gave at this meeting were not from within the last couple years, to my knowledge. Mr Profato also stated that things are a little different now, as individuals have started to go to state legislators and the Attorney General about what is going on in professional wrestling, which is forcing the OAC’s hand.

A few years ago, I wrestled a handful of shows for Rick O’Brien in Virginia. Virginia has the strictest athletic commission I ever dealt with. In fact, the commission there is under the same state agency that handles occupational safety and labor unions. This commission did not want to deal with professional wrestling at any level, so they restricted things and added regulations and fees to the point that you would have to be almost insane to try to run shows there. Eventually O’Brien quit running shows there for essentially that reason.
In Virginia, each wrestler is licensed individually, and is required to have a physical before applying for a license. In addition, promoters have to apply for a promoter’s license, and also for individual show licenses. Unlike Ohio, Virginia will deny licenses, virtually at their discretion. In Virginia, they actually send inspectors out to shows, so if an inspector is unavailable or just does not want to travel to your show, the permit is denied. They also require promoters to be bonded and have insurance. In addition, there is no blood or weapons allowed of any kind – and an inspector can stop and shut a show down at any time if it happens. Fighting outside the ring is not allowed, and there is a requirement for a ringside barrier and security appropriate to the number of fans.
Do a Google search and see how many shows there actually are in Virginia. The commission clamped down on promoters, and got rid of the problem by getting rid of indy wrestling.

Ohio is moving in this direction. While it can be stopped, everyone needs to start getting on board an complying with what the state is asking now, because the crackdown is coming if we do not.

So, there now appears to be two sides – those wanting to work with the commissions and the wrestlers to keep things as close to the way they are now as possible. The other side is the people betting that the OAC has no ability to enforce their own rules, and daring them to start shutting down shows.

Personally, I see deregulation as the solution – but it is never going to happen. Wrestling falling under the auspices of the OAC was passed by a bill in the Ohio Assembly. Deregulation would require a bill removing it from control of the OAC. Do you know who your state Assemblyman and/or Senator is? You will need to convince them to vote in favor of deregulation – that is if you can find someone to sponsor a bill for this and getting it thru committee first.

So, the approach that the FOPW has taken thus far is to gather as much information about promoters and events, and try to get everyone on board with complying with what the state is already asking of professional wrestling in Ohio.

We are Tony Stark, asking the heroes to register before things get even worse.

At the last OAC meeting, the OAC members specifically pointed to two groups that they get calls about. One in eastern Ohio that holds hardcore events, and one southwestern Ohio building that holds unlicensed events.
This past week, the OAC contacted the FOPW, asking if we knew of an event being held by the eastern Ohio promoter. The call was because they actually received a call from the venue the show was to be held at, asking if the show was a legitimate licensed event. Since the OAC did not issue an event permit for this promoter (who does have a promoters license) they told the venue they weren’t sure. When one of my partners in the FOPW contacted the promoter to let them know that the state received a call about their show, the blame was spun around and put on the FOPW for “snitching” to the state. However, it turns out that it was a disgruntled associate of the promoter who called the venue, and prompted them to call the state.

Change is coming. The FOPW is trying to give wrestlers and promoters a voice in this change. We cannot do this without hearing from wrestlers and promoters about what they want. All we are trying to do is get everyone organized. The state does not keep careful records of who is licensed and who is not. The Attorney General is starting to look into sales tax on gate receipts. Promoters and wrestlers are hedging their bets that the OAC still is not going to do anything.

There was only one event permit issued by the OAC for Saturday April 24th. Ring of Honor, which ran a show in Ohio on Friday April 23rd, was not a legal show. What does it say about the power of the OAC that ROH can run an illegal show in Ohio? What if one of the biggest wrestling promotions in the United States had been shut down by the OAC? All that it takes to shut down a show is for the OAC to get a phone call, Mr. Profato to call the Highway Patrol, and for the police to come to the event and arrest the promoter.

A perfect storm is brewing. Personally, I do not want to see any state become a regulatory state similar to Virginia. I understand that deregulation is nearly impossible. So, wrestlers and promoters – what should we be doing if you do not like what we are currently doing? Give us your feedback!

Note From Wrestle Ohio: We are starting a thread on the WO forum, under General Discussion on this subject. Please feel free to discuss this column, or start a thread on any wrestling subject, here – www.wrestleohio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=419#p1310

Column – Enforce the Rules! – Nikita Allanov

It should not be hard to enforce the rules. If it is, maybe the rules should be examined, to see if they are the best fit for the situation.

The Ohio Athletic Commission, which only oversees combat sports in the State of Ohio, lumps professional wrestling in with other sports, such as boxing and mixed martial arts. If you access the OAC’s website and review their regulations involving licensing and so forth for wrestling, most regulations involving wrestling regard only collecting fees for licensing.

Unofficially, the OAC has taken the stance in recent years that the best approach to overseeing wrestling is to let the promoters regulate themselves. That is not working.

Essentially, the OAC lumps professional wrestling in with these combat sports, when in essence professional wrestling is a performance sport. Knowing it is a performance sport, they make exceptions to rules regulating the other sports where they do not necessarily apply, and leave many things open to interpretation. The bottom line however, is that the OAC receives a fee for each wrestling show held in the state by a licensed promoter.

That last sentence has a key phrase: licensed promoter. WrestleOhio.com, a website that employees of the OAC have admitted that they use as a reference tool, lists over 50 promotions running in Ohio. The OAC only has approximately 25 promoters licensed in the state. To be fair, there are good and bad promoters who are licensed, and unlicensed.

In the last few years the number of promotions running in Ohio has boomed. The boom has not, in general, led to more work for wrestlers or bigger and better attendance figures for promoters. What has happened is that small-time outlaw promotions have popped up in areas where other successful promotions hold cards, and attempt to compete. This is often done by loading up cards full of “blood and guts” type of wrestling, performed by semi-trained wrestlers. As I have said in prior columns, this hurts the wrestling business in many ways.

However, the problems generally stem from the fact that these small-time promotions are “outlaw” – meaning the people promoting the cards do not go through the state to get proper licensing. These small time promoters, however, will be the first ones to call the OAC on a legitimate promotion, hoping to cause problems. Why? Usually, because they encounter issues by being outlaw promoters. It is nearly impossible for unlicensed outlaw promoters to run shows in places like schools or publicly owned buildings. They have more trouble advertising and promoting, because they are scared the state will find out about their show and shut it down. Doubling problems for outlaws is the fact that many of them have no clue how to promote to begin with. So, essentially you are left with small time promotions that have trouble drawing paying crowds of a respectable size running in small venues.

Unable to partner with other businesses or organizations because of their outlaw status, these promotions rely on two streams for their revenue: sponsors and attendance. With most unable to draw respectable crowds, sponsorship is usually the sole stream of revenue – which means to pay for a venue, ring, production equipment, and wrestlers, there has to be significant sponsorship. Since this is not usually the case, these events often feature wrestlers who are bottom of the barrel in terms of skill and quality, rather than skilled professionals. The cards are filled with wrestlers who are willing to work for nothing in order to be on a show. This, in turn, alienates fans, who do not want to see this type of garbage.

So, often these outlaw promoters turn to the legitimate competitors in their area, and blame them for their inability to have a successful promotion. In turn, they often “report” incidents, false or not, to the OAC, with the hopes of having the competition shut down. In turn, the licensed promoters, generally, do not care about the outlaws, as their shows tend not to affect them. However, once the OAC becomes involved, legitimate promoters are then under the microscope.

If you are an outlaw promoter, what is the drawback from reporting to the state anonymously? If you are a legitimate promoter, reporting outlaws to the OAC does nothing except draw scrutiny from the OAC to your area. It appears that the OAC views a licensed promoter turning in an outlaw promoter as not in the spirit of promoters regulating themselves, which is what the OAC wants.

Currently, the scuttlebutt in the locker room is that the OAC is considering cracking down on outlaw wrestling promotions by increasing licensing fees and the number of regulations promoters must follow. Yes, the solution the State of Ohio seems to be pursuing is making things more difficult for legitimate promoters to run legally.

In general, I am against de-regulation – only because a fear of big brother watching can do wonders to keep things in line – even if no one is there. However, I am more in favor of keeping an industry alive than I am letting it die, simply because a commission would rather deal with boxing and combat sports. While I do not think that this is a “cash grab” by the commission when taken at face value, I do think that what is happening is that the OAC doesn’t want to deal with wrestling, so by increasing the fees, they are hoping to have less wrestling shows. Ask someone in Virginia or Maryland how often they have wrestling shows in those states, compared to Ohio.

If the OAC begins to implement regulations regarding what can be contained on a wrestling card or in a match, then they need to get into the business of licensing wrestlers. If the use of a chair is going to be prohibited by the OAC, then if a chair is used in a match, who are you going to sanction? If a promoter hires a referee that calls for a DQ when a chair is used, who would the state sanction? They cannot sanction the wrestler, because the wrestler does not have to be licensed by the state. How would the state know a chair was used? Are they going to start sending commission representatives to each show? If all fifty of the promotions running in Ohio were to all run the same night, that would require fifty representatives of the OAC. I do not understand how this eases the burden on the OAC.

What the OAC currently does to investigate outlaw shows, is dispatch the Ohio State Highway Patrol to a show, which in theory should shut the show down if the proper licensing is not followed. In actuality, this rarely happens.

I think that if the OAC wants to actually reduce the problems they have with professional wrestling, then they need to crack down on the outlaw shows. Big time. If a promoter is holding an outlaw card, a commissioner should show up at the venue with a State Trooper, and start handing out fines and summons to appear in front of the commission. If an outlaw promoter who cannot afford to pay his talent suddenly has to travel to Youngstown to appear for a hearing, and have the added expenses of fines, you will see outlaw shows quickly dry up. Right now, running outlaw has no risk, as the commission doesn’t really stop the shows. They just crack the whip with legitimate promoters.

In my opinion, rather than changing the rules, why doesn’t the OAC try actually enforcing the ones that they have on the books?

Column – My Lover in Naucalpan – Nikita Allanov

When I got into this wonderful sport of professional wrestling over a decade ago, I had the goal that a lot of other guys also had at the time: I wanted to work for the WWF, WCW, or ECW. As I learned more about the business (and those companies folded up) my goals changed. Over the years I have had opportunities for things, and I have been scouted by major companies both in the US and abroad. However, my goal was always just to make a living at professional wrestling. As I have grown a little older and grown up a wee bit, goals like that become less realistic. Goals change.

In this week’s column, I would like to express my love for the promotion that currently embodies what I love about wrestling. I am a professional wrestler, and this is what I watch, when I want to watch professional wrestling.

International Wrestling Revolution Group, or IWRG for short, is a lucha libre promotion based out of Naucalpan, which is a suburb of Mexico City. For lack of a better term, it is what I am calling “strong style” lucha libre.

IWRG was founded in 1996 by Adolfo Moreno, who was the promoter running Arena Naucalpan. For years Arena Naucalpan was the red-headed stepchild of the area, because UWA ran weekly cards at the 20000 seat Toreo in Naucalpan, while CMLL ran cards weekly at Arena Mexico, which seats 17000, and Arena Coliseo (which seats around 3500). After UWA folded and AAA emerged as a national touring promotion, Moreno rebranded his events in Naucalpan as IWRG. For about a decade, IWRG would work with CMLL, booking their young rookies on the under cards, while CMLL stars would often headline, helping fill the 1500 seat arena on Thursdays and Sundays.

But, a funny thing happened back in 2007 – CMLL and Mexico’s biggest star, El Hijo del Santo, had a falling out over money. CMLL did what almost seems unthinkable for a US promotion: they “blacklisted” Santo, and any of the CMLL affiliated promoters who used Santo would be cut off from all other CMLL talent. Cesar and Jorge Moreno, Adolfo’s sons who had taken over the family business, were one of the few promoters who decided to stop using CMLL talent.

Without top CMLL stars, IWRG began booking the newly independent wrestlers leaving CMLL and AAA. Beefing up the midcard and the bottom of the card were a variety of rookies (“novatos” in Mexico), who were trainees in the area.

As IWRG began to book fewer and fewer “names” on their cards, IWRG’s cards began to focus more and more on teacher-student feuds. IWRG’s roster began to consist more and more of older veterans who no longer are working on the circuit full-time, and their students, who were booked into programs with other veterans and their students. Filling out the card were indy mainstays, and a number of cast-offs and vets from the bigger companies – many of whom were decent enough wrestlers, but were not in a major company for various reasons.

Negro Navarro and Black Terry were two of the older respected veterans working and training wrestlers in IWRG who were just not out working the circuit anymore. I started paying attention to IWRG when Dr. Wagner Jr. started to appear on occasion after leaving CMLL. Around the same time, a new wrestler debuted in IWRG named Multifacetico – and was immediately pushed up the cards as an unbeatable tecnico. Quickly being put in the spotlight before he was ready, the fans quickly started trashing the young highflyer when his inexperience would show up in matches. Multifacetico then became embroiled in a brutal and bloody feud with veteran rudo Black Terry, with IWRG hoping that the fans would get behind their young star against the dastardly rudo Terry.

Instead, the die-hard Naucalpan fans got behind the rudo. Little did anyone know at the time that Terry was actually the father of Multifacetico, who was soon to be on his way to working fulltime in preliminary matches for CMLL. In addition, Negro Navarro’s sons, Los Traumas, were putting on great matches at their legendary father’s side, often opposing Black Terry, and two other veteran rudos – Dr. Cerebro and Cerebro Negro.

In addition, foreign wrestlers started making their way to IWRG. All-Japan sent Tetsuya Bushi and Kiyoshi to IWRG on learning excursions. Angelico, a Spanish wrestler discovered by Ultimo Dragon, soon appeared. Ricky Cruz appeared from WWC in Puerto Rico. American indy wrestler Gringo Loco channeled the ghosts of Art Barr and started getting major heat as a rudo. With veterans such as Canek, Los Dinamatas, Pantera, and Pirata Morgan showing up, with their novato sons at their sides, IWRG was building a different kind of roster.

IWRG had the perfect storm. The vets were wrestlers with strong mat skills, who insisted on going out and busting their asses to make their novatos look good – more than likely because they wanted the other vets to make sure their own sons looked good. The matches featured long solid falls, with a ton of unique matwork. You know, actually exchanging holds. Anyone who thinks there is no mat wrestling left in wrestling needs to watch IWRG. In addition, the vets were experienced seasoned bases for the young high flyers. This allowed the youngsters to try crazy dives and other high flying moves. The mix of foreign styles (and grizzled veterans getting their hands on rookies) led to stiff exchanges of striking often not seen in lucha. The veterans and the novatos were all pushing each other.

The Arena Naucalpan fans add to the atmosphere. With the traditional airhorns that it seems every lucha arena has, the fans get into the shows and make a lot of noise. Yet, at the same time, they would be silent during the matwork, and would applaud awesome exchanges and holds as if they were a Japanese crowd. Arena Naucalpan seems to have legitimate “smart marks” – fans that appreciate great wrestling and are going to cheer good wrestlers – either rudo or tecnico. The fans would be ridiculously hard on novatos, which forces them to train harder and get better, or face not being booked.

To top things off, Black Terry Jr., ringside photographer extraordinaire, began bringing a video camera to ringside. So, not only were great pics being uploaded to the internet, but suddenly ringside handheld footage was all over YouTube. While IWRG had television shows that would sporadically pop up on the internet in the past, the low production values didn’t flatter the in-ring product. BTJr’s handheld footage, believe it or not, comes across much better. He is so close to the action you can almost feel it. You feel the crash on dives. You can feel the pain of the holds. When a wrestler is injured, BTJr. would get up close and let you see the wrestlers being tended to at ringside. He would even follow the wrestlers to the back. We would get behind-the-scenes footage of wrestlers getting stitched up.

IWRG gives me the same type of vibe that I got when I first discovered ECW back in 1996. It is something that is different, but at the same time traditional. IWRG has found a perfect blend of traditional lucha libre, US indy wrestling, and different international styles. Rather than a melting pot, IWRG seems to be a stew where many different things come together – and the broth is traditional lucha libre. You will see classic European style mat wrestling. You will see crazy lucha highflying. You will see bloody weapons-filled ECW-ish brawls. You see wacky gimmicks. Stipulation matches where wrestlers lose hair and masks. You see 2/3 falls matches that last 30 minutes. You see a great product with a loyal, if small, following.

So, I have motivation again. After twelve years, I have a new goal. I want to go to Arena Naucalpan and learn at the foot of Black Terry and Negro Navarro. IWRG seems to be everything that I currently love about wrestling.

To read more about Nikita Allanov, or to leave feedback on this column, check out his official MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nikitaallanov.

Column – The Needs of Many – Nikita Allanov

Professional wrestling attracts some of the biggest pieces of shit to it in the world. The business is full of liars and cheats. Unfortunately, everyone in the sport is then painted with the same brush. Everyone’s favorite Vulcan, Mr. Spock, said it best: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”. However, in professional wrestling, the few ruin things for the many.

The following is one such example. In my last column, I spoke about how a colleague and myself had been working to establish a Fraternal Order of Professional Wrestlers. A “union” of sorts, but without being a labor union. Our feelings led us to research into such a foundation, because there is an abundance of scumbags in the professional wrestling business, and there is a shortage of standards.

One of the problems is the irregularities in different state athletic commissions as far as who can be a wrestling promoter, and who cannot.

On Saturday Night, February 27th, Charles Fiber, was arrested at the Wheeling Eagles Hall in Wheeling, WV. Fiber, under the name of “Jack Blaze” was promoting a wrestling event at this facility, and was taken into custody while doing an in-ring talk segment by the West Virginia State Police. The charges were related to providing false information to the authorities in regard to his status as a sex offender.

Yes, just so that there is no confusion, you did read that correctly. Fiber was a registered and convicted sex offender who was promoting wrestling shows.

From a January 10, 2010 column that appeared in the Wheeling Times-Leger promoting a wrestling event promoted by Fiber, he is quoted as saying “We hope mom and dad will bring the kids for a great evening of entertainment.” Fiber served approximately 18 months in a federal penitentiary for possessing child pornography and attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor.

The first question that one must ask is, how was a convicted child pornographer able to promote “family friendly” wrestling shows in the first place? Well, the answer is that in West Virginia, there is no athletic commission, or any other body that oversees or sanctions professional wrestling. All that you have to do in West Virginia in order to promote wrestling events is have access to a building and ring. While there are certainly pros and cons to athletic commissions in general, if there was some kind of agency requiring promoters to have a surety bond, Fiber would never have been in a position to promote shows, as his sex offender status would have prevented any reputable insurer from providing the bond.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I regularly wrestle in the Wheeling area. Although I have had encounters with Fiber before, I have never wrestled on any shows with him. In fact, I have wrestled in the Wheeling area almost exclusively for Black Diamond Wrestling, a promotion that promotes family friendly traditional wrestling events in conjunction with area schools, charities, and police organizations such as the FOP and DARE. In fact, the Wells Township Police Department has an excellent working relationship with the promotion.

Because of my familiarity and fondness for competing in the Wheeling area, this incident hurts me. Fiber and his cohorts are generally people that should not be in the business in the first place. Fiber and his longtime associate Alan Decker are two gentlemen who want to be involved with professional wrestling, both in the ring and from the business side, but have no clue what they are doing. There are a number of venues, sponsors, and other outlets that have been ruined for professional wrestling in that area because of the business practices of Fiber. Generally, these guys get enough money together to rent a ring and a venue, put on a show with largely untrained or sub par talent, and a “WWE Legend” headlining the card. In January Fiber’s company promoted a show featuring Gangrel, and Fiber was actually taken into custody while introducing Jim Neidhart on his card this past weekend.

It was no secret that Fiber was into child porn. On many area wrestling websites with gossip-based messageboards, it was brought up regularly. However, everyone appeared to look the other way – apparently it is OK to wrestle for someone aroused by pictures of naked children.

So, as Fiber was arrested on the 27th, there came media coverage of the incident. Television station WTRF in Wheeling ran a story on that evening’s news broadcast, and had details of the arrest on their website. The headline? “Sex Offender Arrested At Wheeling Wrestling Event”.

When reading the story, it is mentioned that Fiber was the alleged promoter of the event. Apparently no one can be sure exactly who the promoter was, because, you know, West Virginia doesn’t require promoters to be licensed or even registered. In addition, it was just mentioned that he was promoting a wrestling event, not the name of the organization. Do you think when a legitimate promoter, such as Black Diamond Wrestling’s Rikk Diamond, attempt to get sponsors or partners for their events, that the person watching the news that night is going to differentiate between Fiber’s smoke-and-mirrors product, which was possibly a front for coming into contact with children, and a legitimate wrestling company?

During my twelve years in the wrestling business, I have come across the fact that your average person does not differentiate between one independent wrestling promotion and another many, many times. I have been involved with shows and also heard about shows where the promoter cheated a sponsor out of money, or damaged a building, or didn’t pay someone for equipment. More often than not, if one wrestling promoter burns a venue, that venue closes its doors to all independent wrestling, not just one particular promoter. In fact, many venues in the greater Wheeling area have closed their doors to wrestling because of the actions of Fiber and Decker, who have promoted shows in various combination of the names Steel Valley Wrestling, Extreme Valley Wrestling, and Legends of Professional Wrestling. There have been bloody deathmatches in family rec centers. There has been a stabbing at a venue owned by West Virginia University. There have been bars and halls who have been shorted on money. Many of these places have closed their doors to wrestling altogether.

So, my question is this: How many of the people who saw this news report on Fiber, are going to no longer support wrestling? How many young athletes who are hungry for more matches and more ring time, are going to lose opportunities because of Fiber?

These types of people can no longer be allowed into our sport. We obviously cannot count on state agencies set-up to monitor wrestling to do that. We cannot count on local authorities. We must do this ourselves, as wrestling promoters, competitors, and fans. We can no longer support or even give credence to people that want to hurt our sport. We have to put the “professional” back into professional wrestling. Our sport is in shambles, and fixing it is more important that any one individual.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”.

To read more about Nikita Allanov, or to leave feedback on this column, check out his official MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nikitaallanov.

Column – The Brotherhood – Nikita Allanov

Professional Wrestling is not what it used to be.

Back in the old days, there was a governing body over the sport – it was the National Wrestling Alliance. The NWA was a very important tool for promoters of independent wrestling. It provided a structure to the renationalized sport, but in a mafia-esque way. NWA members were promoters that had bought into the NWA’s ideals of a territory system, and acted as barons over a territory. Although a wrestler could be blacklisted for actions against the organization’s wishes (which was illegal), the NWA provided an order to the mad world of professional wrestling.

In general, under the watch of the NWA, wrestlers were allowed to move from territory to territory, making money and moving up and down the ladder or success. A handful of wrestlers were able to “barnstorm” – meaning they were able to book their own dates regardless of territory. Select top draws such as Andre the Giant could get away with this. Most wrestlers broke into the business in one territory, and then would go to other areas as their opportunities increased, and then moved on when another money-making opportunity popped up.

Please keep in mind however, that at the same time, there was no free agency in professional sports in the United States. Baseball and football players had contracts and reserve clauses, and were bound to teams, who dictated their pay. Wrestlers were unique, in that they were able to go where they money was. As long as you honored your dates and gave notice, you could leave a territory at anytime. Wrestlers were true independent contractors.

We all know the story of how in the 1980′s, Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett Jr. both attempted to take their promotions national, and the territories went out of business (The WWF putting the territories out of business is somewhat of a half-truth). By the mid-1990s, there were two major companies in the US/Canada – McMahon’s WWF, and the company that Crockett sold off, WCW. There became a boom of independent wrestling that only increased when the wrestling boom happened. WWE and WCW programming was the king of cable, ECW attempted to go national, and a number of strong independent companies thrived.

With all of this boom, came the eventual implosion. WCW went out of business – sold to Vince McMahon. ECW went bankrupt, and the assets were bought by McMahon. And, while a number of companies have popped up, no real competition has been fostered for the WWE machine. The WWE machine, which was able to grow and expand in large part due to McMahon setting up a barnstorming national promotion that paid very little attention to the rules and regulations of state athletic commissions. McMahon made his money off of “sports entertainment”, not athletic contests.

McMahon was the first promoter to admit that wrestling matches were exhibition in nature, and not contests. He did this to avoid regulations by athletic commissions. Prior to this, promoters and wrestlers pointed to the sanctioning state athletic commissions as a way to legitimize wrestling – could wrestling matches possibly be fixed, if the state governed it? In turn, athletic commission appointments were generally cushy posts for influential people within promoting circles.

But, when the territories dried up, a funny thing happened – the athletic commissions stopped having lucrative gates from wrestling events. Rather than having gates from wrestling events every night of the week in different towns drawing a few thousand fans, suddenly WWE, at most, came to town four times a year with a live event. Athletic commissions suddenly had no source of revenue.

As independent promotions popped up in the 1990s, so did the practice of athletic commissions shutting down unlicensed outlaw wrestling shows. As the wrestling boom caused an increase in professional wrestling, so came the increase in individuals wanting to be pro wrestlers. Which was followed by people wanting to be rich wrestling promoters. Many athletic commissions suddenly had to devote resources to shutting down these shows, or stop regulating professional wrestling. Many chose another path – keep licensing fees and gate taxes to remain relevant and to acquire money, but to do as little as possible.

History will show that the regulation of wrestling as it is now in most states, is full of bureaucratic red tape. Most athletic commissions do very little to regulate promoters. Most do even less to regulate wrestlers. Most do nothing but collect taxes.

While most major sports leagues and organizations experienced their athletes uniting into labor unions throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, professional wrestling did not. With the collapse of a territorial system, with only one major company existing in the United States, and the lack of a labor union for wrestlers, the sport has began to crumble right before our eyes. These days, you can buy a ring, gear and everything you need to have a wrestling show on the internet. For a few hundred bucks or less, even you could promote a wrestling event.

Over the past few months, another wrestler and I have had many meaningful conversations regarding what can be done about our sport. After much discussion, we actually started researching the subject, and asking questions. Did you know the Ohio Athletic Commission keeps track of what wrestling cards are taking place within the state via WrestleOhio.com? Did you know that the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission sanctioned over 300 wrestling cards in 2009, but doesn’t have any record of how many licensed promoters operate in their state? Did you know that neither state licenses wrestlers? Over the next few days, months, and years, I am going to begin writing more and more about what we have began to call the “Brotherhood of Professional Wrestlers” – an attempt at getting something organized to regulate our sport the correct way.

If I told you ten years ago that there would be only one major wrestling promotion in the United States, you would have thought I was crazy. If I told you that UFC would be doing bigger numbers on television and pay-per-view than wrestling, you would have thought me crazy. However, it is reality. What will happen to this sport, that I and so many others love so dear, if we continue to let it be destroyed by people that should be buying tickets for events actually participating in the sport, and ruining it? No state or national commission or body or law is going to save professional wrestling. Wrestlers and promoters and the fans are going to be the ones to step up and do what is best for what we love.

For the Betterment, Education, and Future of Professional Wrestling. To provide resources, support, and affect change within the industry of professional wrestling. To advocate change within regulating bodies for fair and equal representation for those who compete within professional wrestling.

To read more about Nikita Allanov, or to leave feedback on this column, check out his official MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nikitaallanov.

Column – I Want to Remember Chris Benoit – Nikita Allanov

OJ Simpson is widely accepted as a murderer. While he was not found guilty in a court of law for killing his estranged wife and a waiter, he was found liable by a civil court. In fact, Simpson now sits in a Nevada jail for an unrelated crime, in which he attempted to steal sports memorabilia at gun point.

Simpson, to a whole generation of people, is simply a punchline to a variety of jokes about a guy killing a couple people. To many people my age, they remember Simpson as the actor and sports commentator who killed a couple people. To people a generation earlier, Simpson is the former Buffalo Bill and USC Heisman Trophy winner who killed a couple people.

Regardless, you would be hard pressed to find someone in the United States and Canada who does not know who OJ Simpson is.

Fifteen years after he killed two people (allegedly), Simpson has a notoriety and fame that is equal to what he had before the double murder in California that he has been found responsible for in a civil court. No one ever pretended Simpson wasn’t a great football player. They didn’t stop showing “Roots” or “the Towering Inferno” or any “Naked Gun” movies because the Juice is a notorious murderer, even if he was not convicted. ESPN still mentions him on SportsCenter when he is relevant to something (such as rushing records, or perhaps the Heisman Trophy) and he is still featured on ESPN Classics in old game footage, and even as a commentator on things like “Superteams:Tug of War”.

So why is it that one of the best wrestlers to ever grace the squared circle is a taboo subject? Why is it that Chris Benoit cannot be celebrated as a great professional grappler that just so happened to murder a couple people, but OJ Simpson can be recognized as an all-time great in his sport?

I am not here to argue that the Benoit Family murder-suicide was not Benoit’s fault, or anything like that. All I am saying is that Chris Benoit was perhaps the best wrestler of his generation, and his body of work should be examined and debated and talked about, rather than swept under the rug as if he never existed.

While there is not debate that Benoit was a murderer, there is also no debate as to what kind of wrestler Benoit was. Benoit was a main event wrestler in every major US wrestling promotion, in Mexico, in Europe, and in Japan. Benoit was a “wrestler’s wrestler” – a true mat technician who not only wowed fans with his matches, but also his peers.

The fact of the matter is this – Benoit, upon an autopsy, was found to have severe brain damage. The damage was done from years upon years of punishment to his head while wrestling. The psychological effects of abusing bodybuilding drugs since adolescence so that he could have a body similar to that of his idol, the Dynamite Kid, also contributed to the Benoit familicide.

Why did Benoit continue to punish his body for years with taking risks in the ring and by injecting harmful drugs into his body? He did it to be the best wrestler in the world. He did it to make his idol, the Dynamite Kid, proud. He gave his body to wrestling. In the end, he sacrificed his life and his body for professional wrestling.

In one way, Benoit should be celebrated. No, of course he shouldn’t be celebrated for killing his family. That would be ridiculous. However, why does our society celebrate athletes like Kobe Bryant, who dedicated his life to basketball at a young age, reached the pinnacle of his profession, and also committed an unforgivable crime? Why is it that mentioning Benoit the athlete is taboo, but in Bryant’s case, it is taboo to mention the rape?

When I was debating becoming a professional wrestler, and when I was training, one of my favorite wrestlers to watch was Benoit. I could write pages and pages on why, but the short version of the story is that he was very good at what he did. Benoit was that good in the ring because he sacrificed like few others would. He sacrificed his body, his mind, his health, his sex drive, and many other things average people take for granted – for the business. If I were a young basketball player, is the game of Kobe not one I should emulate? Shouldn’t young people emulate the work ethic and sacrifices that successful people make?

As a society we emulate people like Richard Pryor and give him credit for changing comedy, yet downplay that he was an addict and an abuser. Generations of kids grew up emulating athletes who were arrested for drugs or violence. Roman Polanski has been given numerous awards for him film-making, even though for years he has lived in exile to avoid facing pedophilia charges. One of the most popular shows on television features an abusive whore-mongering addict named Charlie Sheen. Michael Vick killed numerous dogs for fun, yet is on the football field every week.

Even in wrestling, there are examples of a double standard.

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka once killed a woman in a drug fueled rampage in a hotel in Allentown, PA while an employee of the WWF/WWE. Not only that, but charges were never even pressed against Snuka for the killing. In fact, he got off scott free for the killing in large part due to Vince McMahon portraying Snuka as a “mindless savage” who “didn’t know any better” to the authorities. Yet, Snuka still appears on WWE broadcasts. His name is not taboo. Snuka’s existence is still acknowledged.

So, why is what Chris Benoit did in the final days of his life so much worse than what others have done? Why isn’t the example he set used as a tool to teach? If years of abusing his body in such a manner led to his family’s annihilation, why are his life choices not highlighted and drawn attention to, in an effort to prevent another incident in the future? Why is it that we can separate personal shortcomings from the body of work of individuals like Simpson, Pryor, Snuka, Bryant, Polanski, and Sheen, but cannot separate Benoit’s ring work from his family life?

The reasons that the WWE have for not mentioning Benoit are many, but when taken in context, are designed more to keep up with the company’s public image than anything else. Benoit being a taboo subject is a public relations move. In addition, the Benoit and Eddy Guerrero deaths shed light on many of the business practices of the WWE, which is something that McMahon might be angry about. Maybe by erasing Benoit from the “WWE Universe”, McMahon is also hoping to erase the bad press Benoit’s death gave his company.

My fear is that in a decade, no one will realize just how good Chris Benoit was in the ring. People are allowed to remember Ernest Hemingway for the books he wrote, not for his mental problems and suicide. After his death, Michael Jackson was celebrated for his music, not for being a child rapist. Why is it that we cannot celebrate Benoit for being one of the all time greats in the squared circle?

To read more about Nikita Allanov, or to leave feedback on this column, check out his official MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nikitaallanov.

Column – Paying to Play – Nikita Allanov

Recently a subject came up in a conversation with some friends of mine within the wrestling business, and only days later I saw it pop up in a conversation online amongst a group of wrestlers. So, since I have some thoughts on the matter, I thought it would make a good subject for a column. So here goes.

One of the guys that I trained to wrestle recently was accepted into a “tryout camp” for World Wrestling Entertainment. Upon his acceptance, he tweeted his news. Shortly after that a series of congratulatory remarks were posted in response, followed up by the inevitable derogatory comments. Soon the thread degenerated into another individual attending the same camp telling the guy he was wasting his time, while another individual told him he was wasting his money. Soon everyone started bickering back and forth, and my protege finally said he was doing this to follow his dream, and didn’t really care what they thought.

The thing that caught my eye about the whole conversation was the fact that the individuals in the conversation were bickering about wasting money to attend a tryout, and how much the camps cost, and so forth. I found it quite odd that one guy who was accepted to the camp was ripping on another guy for going to the same exact camp. But, what intrigued me more was that these guys were essentially paying for the right to go on a job interview.

This is part of the problem with professional wrestling. Not just at the top level, but at all levels. I have been racking my brain, and I cannot think of one single profession where you have to pay to try-out, or to be considered for a position. McDonald’s does not have an application fee. The NBA doesn’t charge individuals to tryout. I am unfamiliar with any casting directors who charge actors to audition. I am unfamiliar with any bands who have had to pay to play. Look at the thousands upon thousands of people that attend American Idol auditions – do these people have to pay?

So, why then in professional wrestling, is it common practice and readily accepted that you have to pay for a tryout? I honestly cannot fathom any reason how this became an accepted practice, or why it still occurs, but it is mind blowing. Sure, actors might have agents they have to pay to get their foot in the door for auditions, or an athlete might depend upon an agent or a coach to get them camp invitations and such, but it seems inconceivable to me that a guy in training camp trying to earn a roster spot with the New York Yankees would have to pay a fee to attend. Can you imagine if you were looking through the want-ads in the paper, trying to find a job to put food on the table for your family, and it cost $1000 to apply for a job?

I understand why the hosts of these tryout camps do this – because it makes them money. But, does it not kill the credibility that these camps are of any use?

Recently the Cincinnati Reds (my favorite pro sports team!) won a bidding war to sign heralded left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman – a Cuban defector who was on the free agent market. Chapman had a number of professional teams bidding for his services, even though he has never thrown a pitch in the Major Leagues. After he defected to the Netherlands last year during the World Baseball Classic, Chapman hired an agent to help him secure a deal to play in the major leagues. While I am certain that the agent is getting paid via commission for his services, I never heard anything in any news reports regarding Chapman having to pay a tryout fee to the Reds, Angels, Yankees, or Major League Baseball as a whole, to be scouted.

I do not understand how professional wrestling organizations can do this, and get away with it. There is a difference between charging someone to attend a camp as a way to be coached – that happens at many levels. Corporations often pay for their employees to attend training seminars. Individuals often pay to take classes to stay competitive in their fields. Even at the youth sports levels, there are camps that athletes can attend to improve their skills.

No, there is a distinct difference between having a wrestling camp where you evaluate talent, to perhaps be signed to contracts by your organization, and having a training camp designed to teach. If these camps that are advertised as a chance to be scouted by the WWE are in fact just training camps, then it is very misleading to say that the WWE will be there to evaluate talent.

The fact of the matter is, there are a limited number of jobs in professional wrestling, and there is an overabundance of people wanting those jobs of all skill levels. While you can argue the merits of who WWE/TNA/ROH sign to contracts, the fact is that wrestling is one of the few fields where worthless hacks that have no business being in the business to begin with, can stay in it for years if they have enough money to be of use to someone. There are no agents that sign prospects and get them the things they need to get to the next level. Why? WWE does not negotiate with agents. Why? Because it is easier to give someone an unfair contract if they do not have anyone to negotiate for them. Think of it this way: Professional wrestlers have to pay their own travel expenses. Players in the National Football League do not. Plus, there are 1664 players under contract in the NFL – not counting practice squad or injured reserve players. How many guys are under contract to the WWE at one time? 100, maybe? NFL players sign exclusive contracts for one league/team – why are they not considered independent contractors? But, wrestlers will put up with that, and even pay someone for the opportunity to be scouted, because they want to be a wrestler that bad. It is as nonsensical as you can possibly imagine.

The truth of the matter is this – the best way to get work in professional wrestling is through who you know. Word of mouth and references mean more than anything. While camps like these can certainly help you get your name out there, the truth of the matter is if the WWE is interested in signing you, they are going to approach you about working for them. Only in professional wrestling are you required to spend your own money to show how deep your desire is. I guess Vince McMahon has issues with making money off of “superstars” who do not sacrifice their pocketbooks to show how badly they want to be a star. Pumping steroids into your veins, sacrificing in the gym and the ring, and giving up any kind of normal social life isn’t enough.

The wrestling business is full of shady carny “businessmen” – and none are more shady and carny than the ones at the top. Until wrestlers smarten up and clean up this business and quit letting ourselves be taken advantage of, no one will think twice about having to pay for an audition to the “WWE Universe”.

To read more about Nikita Allanov, or to leave feedback on this column, check out his official MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nikitaallanov.