We all, I think, come at wrestling with our own collection of references, noteworthy matches we saw live, caught as children when they aired on television, or special pay-per-views we saw back in the day when, because of price or cable TV limitations, you didn’t necessarily see every pay-per-view. These important moments in a wrestling fan’s career define the fan’s perspective at its core. They are foundational, just like the books and films that influenced…
Month: December 2014
Something cool happened, by the way — my story about indy wrestling called “The Unshakable Kayfabe of Tommy Rage” got nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the folks at New Pop Lit! You can read the story at the link below. Also check out Thomas Mundt’s story “Placeholders”, I found it hilarious.
I contend that we may be witnessing an era of missed opportunity. In these post-Authority times, there is a chance for the WWE to turn a corner – start a new chapter, head down a new storyline. The Authority’s departure is an opportunity for the WWE to experience a true period of lawlessness. Oh, we’re told things are lawless right now by Seth Rollins because he for one has been a marked man. But they’re…
I have precious little to say about TLC which is a shame, because I think so fondly of the days when tables, ladders, and chairs meant something huge. A ladder match used to fill me with fearful excitement, and the crunch of a split table would stir in me a primal thrill. I used to try to write poetry about the iconography of hardcore, hardcore being a kind of revolution, a period of anarchy in…
Look, I like Erick Rowan just fine. His face turn was alright by me. But the overwrought story forced on him undermines the character he naturally seems to be. The Wyatt Family had a certain authenticity about it, and within that world he was a mute weirdo. I could buy him as a sort of autistic genius specializing in chess, Rubik’s Cubes, bomb building, that sort of thing. But really, it took him a little…
Well, you know. It was the Slammies and all, and there’s nothing like an awards show to dampen my writerly spirits. Plus, I’m a little behind still — I need to listen to the Vince McMahon podcast, but I first need to dig up my password so I can renew my subscription to then network, which recently expired. I almost don’t want to, considering how much I hate looking up passwords, as well as the…
Thanks to all the folks who read my post about the Big Show’s heel turn (and big thanks to the big man for retweeting!) this blog just passed 1000 hits! In honor of our achievement, I present you with a celebratory Youtube video and encourage you to sing along. (Remember how it goes? “You suck, you suck, you suck, you suck…”)
Wow! One retweet from Big Show and this blog is blowing up! Before my post on Show’s poignant heel turn, Notes on the Spectacle of Excess had something like 320 all-time hits. After he shared my post I’m well over 800 in just a couple days. My thanks to the big man, and welcome new readers! I have taken to tweeting my thoughts on RAW, and then compiling and revising them for my weekly Notes…
Part of me wants to delete every post on my blog and start from scratch after listening to the CM Punk podcast. Punk’s revelations changed everything from a critical perspective. He pulled back the curtain on the company’s ugliness, which I submit we were all aware of and just didn’t know how to confront. Somehow we accepted it as part of the drama, but in fact there are real people sacrificing their bodies and being…