Note To Wrestlers: You're Not MMA Fighters

As I have said many times here, I am fairly new to the independent wrestling scene. I am not going to lie to you and say I have been watching guys like Davey Richards, Low Ki, Eddie Edwards, or any other independent wrestler who's style is based off of Japanese "strong" style for a long time. However, since I have started this blog I have tried my best to pay attention to as much wrestling as possible, and one thing seems to garner the most attention and admiration on the independent scene is guys who work as stiff as possible, like the gentlemen mentioned above, use legitimate MMA style maneuvers and seemingly have little to no regard for the guys they are working with in the ring.

I totally understand that wrestling is, even when guys are using the utmost precaution in the ring, brutal and unforgiving.  However, I also understand that the guys in the ring are following a script and usually go to great lengths to make their violence look as painful as possible while inflicting as little pain on each other as possible. This isn't the 60s, 70s, and 80s where the legitimacy of pro wrestling was in doubt, but still believed to be real. The cat is out of the bag, the genie is out of the bottle. There is no going back.

Please Let ECW R.I.P

I am a late to the show(as usual) ECW fan. The only wrestling I got to watch when ECW started was WCW and WWE because I wasn't in a region that carried ECW.  I remember watching commercials for a ECW pay per view at my friend Fletcher's house, who got ECW because his family had the money to get one of those gigantic satellite dishes where you could watch Chinese game shows and games of cricket on a regular basis if that is what you wanted to do..Fletch's house was also always stocked with food too..it was awesome. But, I digress.

As I watched the commercial I saw guys hitting each other with garbage can lids, powerbombing each other through tables lit on fire,hitting each other with Kendo sticks, barb wire, thumb tacks, and cookie pans. I was confused, interested, and skeptical about this crazy style of wrestling. I had NO idea that this organization would turn out to be the farm system that fueled the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW with not only talent, but ideas as well. However, after I left Fletch's house I forgot all about ECW, because as I said, I wasn't in a region that carried ECW, and because me and Fletch weren't that tight. Regardless of his stocked pantry.