It’s good to be back, folks.
Actually, scratch that- it’s grrrrrrrrreat to be back, as
the animated corporate tiger says.
On numerous occasions, I started a blog on the shows I did
in June, and gave up halfway through. There
wasn’t enough in them to fill a full blog, or to sustain interest for me,
writing it. With a few extra shows since then, though, I decided to cram ‘em
all together into this bumper blog. (Incidentally, having passed the seven year
mark- and in an attempt to put a minor twist on the whole ‘show recap’ blog-
I’ll attempt to deal with each show in seven points of info. Lame, I know, but
it was the best I could come up with.) Off we go…
Wrestling.IE –
Navan, Meath—June 4th
1) First show since November last year, when I faced Sam
Steel for TAW. I was due to wrestle at WrestleZone’s Liquid show in Feb, but it
was unfortunately cancelled a few days before the show, due to some shenanigans
from the venue. I was also wrestling on my seventh ‘anniversary’, as it were. I
began training June 4th, 2005, so it was cool to have a match on the
date.
2) My travelling companions on the short journey to Navan
were Johnny Notaro, Niall Fox and Vic Viper. I’d met Johnny a few times last
year, and was in an eight-man tag with him on a previous Wrestling.IE show in
Irvinestown. I’ve known Niall for years, and faced him in the last ever IWW Gym
Wars, in August 2008. I’ve known Vic even longer, and we’ve been friends for donkey’s
years, along with having plenty of matches together.
3) Niall provided some grisly videophone footage, on the
journey, of a horrific “headscissors gone wrong” (from a show the previous day.)
The poor, unfortunate victim was Anthony Idol, who I teamed with on a show last
year. Thankfully, I believe he’s suffered no lasting damage from the accident. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kV5mX8oT7c
(see 01:17 onwards if you’ve a strong stomach.)
4) Vic, Johnny & I were doing the same round-robin
dealie that Maxer, Dunkan & I had done last year. It was good fun. It was
my first time working with Johnny, and my fourteenth singles match with Vic
(though we’ve had loads more matches in triple-threats, fourways, tags and so on.)
Both matches were enjoyable (though I somehow managed to do myself a lingering
rib injury, missing a top-rope splash in my match with Johnny.) The triple
threat match between the three of us was particularly good, I must say.
5) We were wrestling outdoors, during the Navan Town and
County Fair. It was a very bright and sunny day, so it was nice wrestling out
in the open. We were set up in a car park- opposite a massive bandstand- and
got changed in the back of a van. The three of us were due to ‘commence
wrestling’ when the unusual sound of The Everly Brothers’ All I Have to Do is Dream kicked in. Surreal… We also took pictures
in the ring with Mr Tayto (the mascot for Tayto, Ireland’s premier brand of
crisps.) I’m fairly certain he was Dr Tayto at some point, but I was informed
by a reliable source that he was struck off after a malpractice suit. Shame…
6) Once we’d finished, and cleared up for the day, we were
roped into- excuse the pun- taking part in a tug-o’-war. Facing the
insurmountable challenge of trying to move this planet of a man on the opposing
side, and the downhill gradient, we did not win out on this day, though I
maintain we would have had more success if I’d been given fair notice, and
brought my specialised Siberian tugging gloves. Alas, it was not to be. We
drowned our sorrows, afterwards, with some iced cream.
7) Poor Steve, the promoter of Wrestling.IE; he was
introducing the Mayor of Navan at one point, prior to my match with Vic, and
forgot the man’s name! Heh heh. An unfortunate mental blank, but he covered it well.
WrestleZone—Aberdeen,
Scotland—June 9th
1) With no direct flight from Dublin to Aberdeen on this
particular Saturday, I took the slightly more circuitous route of flying to
Edinburgh (with Ryanair, and a noisy stag party- grrr…) and getting the train
to Aberdeen. No real hassle, though. I enjoy getting the train. Had Family Guy on the portable DVD- good
stuff.
2) One of the slightly less-committed WZ trainees somehow
managed to injure himself doing a forward roll, during a pre-show training
class. To this day, albeit just over two months later, I’ve still no clue how
he did it. Visually, he reminded me of BJ Novak (or ‘Ryan’ in the US version of
The Office.)
3) I was still suffering the effects of missing the splash
against Johnny a few days before. The ‘ribular’ discomfort would last about six
weeks, before clearing up and taking its leave, like an unwelcome houseguest
or, if you prefer, an unpleasant stench wafting out through an open window.
4) I teamed with Shawn Johnson and Bryan Tucker- now WZ’s
tag champs, The Granite City Hotshots- to face Sterling Oil and Crusher Craib,
in a lively and exciting six-man tag. I’d teamed with Bryan before to face
Sterling Oil two years before, and also at the Summerhill Hotel,
coincidentally. I faced Crusher Craib at the Liquid show last year, in an enjoyable
bout. Nice working with ‘em all again.
5) I stole Dave Malice’s trademark porkpie hat following the
win- and delivered a promo while wearing it- but was compelled to return it to
him after the show, under threat of injunction. Say what you will about the
man, but he has a quality legal team.
6) I took part in the Regal Rumble later in the show, which
culminated in Crusher Craib turning on his Sterling Oil cohorts and winning the
match, to a nice ovation. The match, like most battle royals, was a bit of fun.
7) Another enjoyable stay in Chateau Stirling, and a nice visit to their extended family, capped
off a great weekend. Cool seeing all the WZ guys & girls again.
Celtic
Championship Wrestling—Bishopstown, Cork—August 5th
1) Having provided help and advice in the months leading up
to CCW’s début show in August, it was cool seeing everything come together on
the night, and turning out well. Nice job by Lee & co.
2) I made the car journey with Niall Fox, Irish Dragon and
JC Williams. It was an enjoyable trip, mixing some pleasant chat, and a couple
of the Knowing Me, Knowing You (Alan
Partridge) radio episodes. (Personally, I prefer the radio episodes of KMKY to the TV ones; slightly funnier, in
my view.)
3) I subscribe to the Sir Ian McKellen school of thought-
from Extras- in that there will be no
scripts on the night. (“You must LEARN the words!”) Scripts for all the matches
were laid out on arrival but, considering the experience of the majority of the
workers on the card, they were largely disregarded, and the workers looked
after their own matches, in the traditional manner. No harm done.
4) It was great to see folk I hadn’t seen in quite a while,
like Bonesaw, Dunkan Disordely, and Shawn Maxer, amongst many, many others.
Kept the atmosphere enjoyable and fun backstage.
5) The setup was pretty cool, with a camera crew filming the
show, and pre-match promos. I was quite happy with mine, and am pleased to be
at a stage where I don’t dread the damned things anymore!
6) The fourway with JC, Irish Dragon and Insano turned out
well- even if I ended up with a black eye from clashing heads with Dragon; the
first of two in the same month. (Same eye and everything!) The match was well
received by the crowd. Unfortunately, part of the composition of the evening’s
audience were the obnoxious brand of “smart marks”; y’know the ones that
slavishly copy WWE/ECW/ROH audiences on TV, and try to get themselves over by
starting random, irrelevant chants…? That brand. Always hilarious… Thankfully,
they didn’t detract from the match in any great fashion.
7) The three-hour journey back was tough-going, especially
in light of having to be up early for work the next morning, but was grand.
Niall and JC were good company, and helped stave off the possibility of me
nodding off at the wheel, listing off into a ditch and killing us all, so chalk
that up as a ‘W’.
Wrestling.IE—Carrickfergus,
Antrim—August 10th.
1) Full car up to Antrim for this one: me at the wheel-
driving like a maniac, as ever- Lee Lightning, Johnny Notaro, Kazza Glennon and
Bam Katraz. Good banter. (I’d met everyone after a day’s work, so was a bit
shattered. I’d usually tend to spend my Friday evenings horizontal, getting
some much needed R&R. This was an exception, though.)
2) First time wrestling in a tent/marquee, to my recollection.
The tent was set up beside the marina in Carrickfergus, and in the car park
next to the Windrose Hotel. We ended up changing in the windowless Gents
toilets upstairs, adjoining the restaurant. The sight of a load of half-naked
men in unusual costumes certainly drew a few quizzical looks from the patrons,
as I’m sure you can imagine, and I was told that at least one diner was put off
her Salad Niçoise.
Quel
dommage.
3) I worked with Bam Katraz for the first time in about five
years on this show. Back in the day, in IWW, Bam and I were both ‘faces, and
had teamed a few times, but had to wait a fair while before we got the
opportunity to have a match together. That opportunity came at Gym Wars 17, in
October 2006, and we had a really good match. We would get the opportunity to
have two or three more great singles matches over the course of 2007, but this
was the first time in years that we worked together.
4) The match was good, and solid, but I was slightly disheartened
with my own performance, finding myself worn-out from work, the sweltering heat
in the tent, and the little bit of extra size I was sporting. Having put a bit
more emphasis on my gym routine over the last few months, I’m still getting
used to trying to adjust my cardio and conditioning to the tiny bit of extra
upper body bulk, as it were. ‘Tis a delicate balance, no pun intended.
5) Finding it difficult to replicate the fast-paced style of
match that Bam & I used to favour was sobering and, again, somewhat
disheartening; a reminder of my own limitations. Frustratingly, I feel I’m at a
point where I’ve a solid grasp on the mental/psychological side of things, but
the physical side lets me down sometimes. Certainly something that can be tweaked,
but I was disappointed in my inability to recapture the chemistry I had with
one of my favourite opponents. I guess my standards are a little higher with
Bam, as we had some really good matches together in the past. It was by no
means a bad one, but I wished I could’ve done more, for my own part, to make it
better. Hopefully, I’ll get another crack at it, down the line. (Not in a tent
next time, though!)
6) While I brought my
green gear to the show, I went with the baby blue instead, as Bam was wearing
orange. Green vs. orange in a Protestant area would (potentially) be confusing
for the audience, or even a political powder keg waiting to go off in an explosion
of sectarian violence! I’ve had absolutely no hassle whatsoever from trips up
north, and consider the political sensitivity- based largely on religion- to be
bullshit and mainly outdated but, under the circumstances, I thought it best to
err on the side of caution.
7) The trip back was enjoyable. Good company, and
conversation; especially good when we strayed away from wrestling-related
topics, and discussed other stuff. A good group o’ folks to travel with.
WrestleZone—Aberdeen,
Scotland—August 18th
1) Wasn’t expecting this one to pop up! The WZ guys gave me
notice of their Battle of the Nations show the previous Tuesday evening, when I
was enjoying a small get-together with some of the old IWW crew- Bam, Vic
Viper, Mad Man Manson, Red Vinny and The Ballymun Bruiser. It was a fun
evening, catching up and swapping old anecdotes. An absolute scorcher,
weather-wise, as well. At any rate, due to a card snafu, someone was needed to
partner Scotty Swift for the main event, and represent Scotland, against the
villainous, moustache-twirling English duo of Dave Rayne and Rob Cage. (Neither
of whom have moustaches; I think they were clip-ons.) That someone would turn
out to be your humble author.
2) I’d nothing special planned for that weekend, if I’m
honest. I was planning some R&R, watching a few films and making some
headway with Arkham City. That said,
I still managed a nice rest, as my flight was around lunchtime, with Aer Lingus
Regional/Aer Arann. Love flying with them; along with the allocated places, and
comfy seats, the plane itself is smaller (with propellors and everything!) and
you’re let enjoy the flight in peace and quiet without the staff trying to sell
you shit every five minutes. With a chance for further rest in the morning, and
a relaxing flight, I was in a state of complete zen when I arrived at the
Northern Hotel, for the evening’s show. (It might also have had something to do
with over-indulging in ketamine, but let’s not dwell on that…)
3) The match was enjoyable, and got a good reaction from the
lively WZ crowd. I somehow ended up with another black eye, which I found
humorous more than anything else. It was my first time working with Dave, and
an enjoyable one. (He was a trooper, taking an inhuman amount of back rakes!) I
was working with Rob for a third time, I believe, having worked him in a triple
threat in SSW in 2010, and a six-way ladder match for SWE last year. He’s a
gent, and I love working with him. Scott and I had worked a singles match for
SWE in 2010, but this was our first time teaming, and a successful one at that.
4) The crowd were awesome, and gave me a warm, encouraging
welcome back. Certainly made things easier, as I laid out a challenge for WZ
Undisputed Champ Johnny Lions for my next trip over in October. Coincidentally,
I faced Johnny the last time I wrestled in the Northern Hotel, back in 2009.
Look forward to working with him again in Inchgarth.
5) Had a nice time, post-show. Went for a quiet drink and
chat with the WZ guys, then headed back to the hotel, stopping on the way for a
Chinese. Got what I believe was the nicest chicken satay I’ve ever had, from
Chung Hwa. It was ridiculously tasty. Roomed with Rob Cage, and enjoyed
chatting with him. Thoroughly nice guy. (John Carpenter’s The Fog was on in the background. Good film. The remake from 2005
wasn’t so much.)
6) With a later flight home the next day, I spent time with
Sterling Oil’s Richard R. Russell and William Sterling, and Bryan Tucker,
getting lunch at The Wild Boar, and having a walk around Aberdeen. ‘Twas a nice
afternoon, and a cool way to cap off the trip.
7) My flight home was also with Aer Arann/Aer Lingus
Regional, and I spent the flight chatting to the gentleman next to me; an
Australian chap named Dean, from Newfoundland. Nice fella. I think it’s
fascinating, at times, the various paths you cross with people, through life.
It’s as if your life is a TV series, and you have people like this as
occasional guest stars. You have your recurring characters, your main cast, and
folks who are written out of your series, for whatever reason! Weird way of
looking at things, I know, but as I said to a friend once: “Everyone’s the hero
of their own film [of their life]”. (I’m more of a supporting character in mine…!)
At any rate, with two later flights,
removing the need to get up at stupid o’clock to head to the airport, and a
nice stay-over in the hotel, it definitely stands as one of my more chilled-out
journeys abroad in quite some time.
TAW King of the
Counties—Dunstable—August 25th
1) I shall not knock Ryanair. For what they offer, they’re
good at what they do. That said, travelling with them would certainly never be
the apotheosis of ‘relaxed air travel.’ The previous week’s flights with Aer
Lingus Regional were comfortable, and had me relaxed when I touched down. In
stark contrast, I arrived in Luton fairly frazzled, if I’m honest. The number
of loud, whiny, ill-mannered kids on the flight wrecked my buzz. One child in
particular was bawling for about two-thirds of the journey. At that early hour,
it was like a drill boring into my skull. Boring, boring, boring…
2) Met at the Airport by Samson, and we’d a good chat and a
catch-up. Sat in on their Saturday training, and saw the Kurt Angle ‘Funny or
Die’ video. If you haven’t seen it yet, treat yourself—funny stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkjycWc-HMs
3) Hung out with my buddy Lewis Cooper for the afternoon.
Enjoyable chatting with the gentleman; his anti-Irish barbs had decreased since
my last visit. Progress… (Apart from him mocking how I see “barbs.” Bastard…)
4) Actually worked with Lewis in the show’s opener, in a
King of the Counties quarter final match. A very enjoyable bout. Best-looking
G-17 (my finisher) that I’ve hit in quite a while. Pleased with that. The crowd
were slightly subdued throughout the evening, but I was happy with the matches.
I worked Dan Darkstar in the semi finals, as well, and enjoyed that. A satisfying
evening’s work, all told.
5) Had a browse in Asda with Lewis and Sam Steel, once I’d
gotten changed after my matches. Managed to pick up The Innkeepers for £5. A steal! I’m a fan of the horror genre- when
done well, obviously- and really enjoyed writer/director Ti West’s The House of the Devil. A suitably
creepy throwback to films of the 1970s, and with a heavy emphasis on character
development and suspense, THOTD was
an impressive entry in the genre, and I was looking to pick up his follow-up.
Good souvenir of the trip; the souvenir of my last Dunstable trip was a pair of
furry dice that are still in my car (but have seen better days!)
6) Samson & his wife very kindly put me up for the
evening once again, and dropped me off at the Airport very early the next
morning. Stupid o’clock, as it were. Took quite a while to get through Security
(for once, NOT because of the armoury I was trying to smuggle through.) I’m
constantly amazed by the amount of people who are ridiculously unprepared when
it comes to their turn at the top of the queue. Granted, 100ml is a completely
arbitrary figure for any toiletry- as if an extra 150ml of Lynx Africa could
take down a commercial airliner- but them’s the rules, and they’re well signed,
so there’s really no reason everything shouldn’t run smoothly. Another minor
gripe of the air travel experience. (I’d be more along the lines of George
Clooney’s character from Up in the Air.
Good film, as is Clooney’s other recent film The Descendants, which I watched when I got home from the flight. Small
segue, there.)
7) My other air travel gripe would be the amount of absolute
crap that Ryanair try to shill on their flights. I completely understand that
they need to make money somehow, but at such an early hour, it’s incredibly
irritating to have loud PA interruptions every five minutes shilling phone
cards, scratch cards, food & drink, perfumes, and everything under the sun.
I was watching One Foot in the Grave
on the portable DVD at the time, and was getting increasingly infuriated with
the amount of interjections from the ‘cabin crew.’ I’m a grump, I know…
Anyway, that’s that, folks. Bloody long one, eh? Well, I’m
not quite done yet. Keeping with the “seven” them, here’s seven off-topic bits
and pieces…
1) Loved The Dark
Knight Rises. Loved it. I’m not prone to changing my favourite film at the
drop of a hat, but I think TDKR has
taken its place at the top of my list, alongside the likes of Seven, Silence of the Lambs, Donnie
Darko, Inception, The Wicker Man and Warrior, amongst others. Excellent conclusion to the trilogy, and
phenomenal performances from all involved. Completely exceeded my expectations.
Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it ticked all the boxes for me.
2) Loving Breaking Bad.
After being poked and prodded by many people to give it a shot, I did so, and
am thoroughly enjoying it. Superb stuff.
3) Haven’t had a
decent game of football in a few months now. I play indoor football once a
week, but we ain’t getting the numbers, unfortunately, of late. Hopefully,
things will pick up again soon.
4) I’ll probably check out Total Recall, but I’m not sure what to expect. The cast is very
good, but the amount of remakes coming out of Hollywood is pretty depressing.
Are there really so few new ideas out there?
5) Saw Ted
recently, and enjoyed it. The trailers beforehand were appalling, though. (Or,
at least, not to my taste.) Along with A
Few Best Men (euch), there was the Will Ferrell/Zack Galafianakis film The Candidate, which failed to raise even
a grin. Not so much as a grin, for mercy’s sake! No offence to any Ferrell fans
reading, but I really don’t care for his stuff; Anchorman may be a favourite of some, but it ain’t for me.
6) Two plugs to finish- first, the ol’ new T-shirts. A nice,
Dublin-based firm did ‘em up for me, and did a darned good job. If anyone wants
one, or any other items of my crappy merchandise, send up a smoke signal.
7) Plugs for my Formspring, where you can post questions
either anonymously or… eh… nonymously?? Here, anyway: http://www.formspring.me/BingoBallance
. Also, a list to my Blogspot site, and my previous entries: http://theballancesheet.blogspot.ie/ (if you’re reading this on Blogspot,
disregard. You’re eh… you’re already on the site.)
