A couple of weeks ago I reviewed an AJ Styles best of… compilation and opened by discussing the concept of the total package; wrestlers who possess both the in-ring ability and skill to entertain fans, who are also good enough actors to make viewers care about what’s happening between the ropes beyond the level of “that was a really cool move”. Who is the total package? (Hint: It’s NOT Lex Luger…)

The once-mighty independent wrestling promotion known as Ring of Honor has changed significantly in the last eight months, and most of the core ROH fanbase would agree those changes were for the worse. But now, a new promotion looks to fill the void created by ROH’s de-evolution, led by the very booker whose release from Ring of Honor began their downward spiral. In one month, Gabe Sapolsky will debut his new American division of a hot Japanese indy fed, known as Dragon Gate USA.

Pro wrestling fans who value in-ring action over grandiose production and wacky characters appreciate a wrestler possessing the “total package”. Regarding actual wrestling (not mic skills or character development) the total package includes speed, agility, a well-developed move-set, believable strikes, holds, and throws, the ability to sell offense, an understanding of psychology, and ring generalship. One young star by the name of Allen Jones possesses all of the above and always delivers in the ring, and I’m sure you’ve seen his work but you know him by his professional handle: “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles.

Although every critic thinks he knows a better way to tell a story, I’ve written this column for over four years and very rarely have I given into the urge to write “fantasy booking” columns, with one notable exception. But since I recently discussed the ROH world championship and what it’s fate could have been, it got me thinking…

Throughout Ring of Honor’s 7-plus years in existence, there have been only 11 world champions, and no former champ has ever earned the championship a second time. There has been a lot of discussion and speculation amongst ROHbots and analysts about which former champ might be a good choice to break through and repeat to become the very first two-time ROH world champion in company history.

Once upon a time, in a small converted Bingo hall in South Philadelphia, a modest company that had once been aligned with the bloated, tired, National Wrestling Alliance broke away from the pack of indy obscurity and carved its own niche in the pro wrestling universe.

I’ve stated many times that I consider professional wrestling an art form. Just like other performance arts, both the artist and the art itself can be compromised when the artist loses creative control, even if he willingly gives it up in order to make a sound career decision. In fact, where career goals and financial security meet performance for the sake of creative expression, art dies.

As with most entertainment genres, professional wrestling has its own ground rules and ways of approaching common sense. Some of the famous (or infamous) accepted notions of the “wrestling IQ” are so outrageous and lacking in common sense that they can be pretty tough to swallow.

Ever since ROH changed in such a way that most of my indy-fan brethren would agree was for the worse and the HDNet show has failed to live up to Ring of Honor’s standards, it’s been tougher than usual to satisfy our craving for the sort of wrestling action we enjoy. So I recently revisited Ring of Honor’s sister promotion, Full Impact Pro, and discovered a reliable source of high quality, exciting wrestling action at very affordable prices.

I’ve been a fan since the first WrestleMania and have experienced a huge sum of matches myself. Some were poor, some boring, some incredibly entertaining, and some absolutely epic. But what is it that makes a wrestling match great? What factors contribute to one’s enjoyment?

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl. Boy gets new girl, boy loses her too. Boy still believes in love, and looks for it all over. Has love come around again? That depends upon Gabe Sapolsky and Dragon Gate USA…

TODAY’S ISSUE: A wrestling fan’s love story.

What do Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Paul London, Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Petey Williams, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Chris Sabin, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Kendrick, Davey Richards, Alex Shelley, AJ Styles, James Gibson, Mike Quackenbush, and reigning ROH World Champion Jerry Lynn all have in common, besides being fantastic professional wrestlers? They’ve all competed in [...]

QUESTION: What do you get when you thrust twelve of the best wrestlers in the world into a unique tournament with a twist, in which the winner earns the right to face the reigning world champion at a later date? ANSWER: One hot night of pro wrestling action, otherwise known as Ring [...]

How exciting! My favorite promotion ever has finally acquired a television outlet after over seven years of producing outstanding, hard-hitting, entertaining professional wrestling shows. It will now be available to far more fans than ever before, which is like a ROHbot’s dream come true. Or is it?

I have developed very specific tastes by watching hours and hours of wrestling from dozens of promotions, both big and small, and have discovered that most of the easily accessible content isn’t my cup of tea. Because I do call a spade a spade consistently it seems like I’m jaded, and I’m often asked the question, “What things about pro wresting would you change if you had the opportunity?” This week I’ll give a few of my answers.

Four days before his 34th birthday, former WWF/E superstar Andrew “Test” Martin was found dead in his Tampa, Florida condo. Authorities suspect no foul play, which unfortunately means that we can all guess what caused his untimely demise. Unless something incredibly unusual was responsible, Martin most likely died of a heart attack brought about by years of abuse to his body in the form of drugs.

While checking out RAW last week I was pleasantly surprised by the arc in which Triple H’s hatred for Randy Orton and disgust over Orton’s recent actions has forced him to reveal the worst kept secret in WWE, the identity of Stephanie McMahon’s real life HHHusband.

On the weekend of 28-29 April, 2007 at the Liverpool Olympia in England, sixteen independent wrestling promotions joined together for an incredible display of camaraderie and cooperation to create a one-of-a-kind professional wrestling event: the King of Europe Cup tournament. Federations from America, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany sent representatives to comprise a field of very well known and respected indy performers who made history together as they competed for the honor of being crowned the first King of Europe.

Once upon a time, a group of young lions who have since achieved fame were trying to make their mark on the crazy world of professional wrestling, so they blazed a new trail in their very own promotion. Matt Hardy, along with his brother Jeff, is featured in a major storyline today for the most financially successful wrestling promotion in the world, but 12 years ago he owned and operated a unique independent promotion known as OMEGA.

Valentine’s Day is meant to be a celebration of love, but on February 14th, 1999 there was nothing to be found in the World Wrestling Federation but hatred at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Memphis.

Mister Payne interviewed tenured Pulse Wrestling staff columnist Vinny Truncellito on his No Payne, No Glory podcast.
The discussion covered topics including WWE, TNA, ROH and the indies, Stampede Wrestling, a bit of WrestleMania fantasy booking, and more!

In the unusual entertainment genre known as professional wrestling, it takes a truly unique performer to rise to the top. Except in the most rare circumstances, a successful pro grappler must possess not only great athletic skill, but also something equally important – the ability to act.

TODAY’S ISSUE: Acting.

I recently conducted a “Royal” experiment. It’s been more than a year since I regularly watched WWE, so unlike previous years in which I’d discuss, analyze and speculate to death, this year I had no idea who was likely to win the Royal Rumble, or even what the current storylines are other than the cursory knowledge I glean from reading Pulse Wrestling.

After years of awful, hokey wrestling films like No Holds Barred, Body Slam, and the horrid Ready to Rumble, fans of the squared circle can finally enjoy a gritty, moving story on the silver screen, the December 2008 sleeper hit The Wrestler.

Some pro wrestling matches are intense, violent, or high-flying; some feature technical grappling, brawling, power wrestling, or even a little comedy. There are all sorts of matches, and very few can be consistently relied upon to be “fun”, but the WWE’s Royal Rumble match is always a lot of fun, and routinely delivers excitement, entertainment, drama, and more often than not, a fan-pleasing outcome.

TODAY’S ISSUE: The Royal Rumble.

“On June 25, 2007, Canadian pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home. The ruling of murder-suicide caused a media frenzy and stunned wrestling fans around the world.”

In last week’s column I discussed the first TNA 3-hour pay-per-view and how much they have changed for the worse in the past four years. Consistent readers know I gave up on both WWE and TNA a while back in favor of independent promotions like Ring of Honor, so this week I’ll discuss why ROH produces ppv shows that are superior to those of both the “big 2”, WWE and TNA.

Once upon a time there was an American pro wrestling promotion with a different approach to the business called Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (or TNA for short). They showcased a special breed of modern athlete in a unique, six-sided ring, and proudly stood apart from the style of show produced by the global juggernaut known as World Wrestling Entertainment. This “little-company-that-could” breathed new life into the stale and stagnant scene and was poised to blaze an innovative trail straight through major league professional wrestling.

At the Armageddon ppv last weekend, perennial also-ran Jeff Hardy finally won the big one and walked away as the new top dog on SmackDown!, capturing the WWE Championship in a triple-threat match against defending champion, Edge, and Vince McMahon’s favorite son(-in-law), Triple H.

Continuing my exploration of independent wrestling in the United States, I was recently exposed to a company called New England Championship Wrestling, which offers a unique alternative to many other indy promotions: a free, weekly Internet broadcast.

Beloved indy fed Ring of Honor recently caused an uproar amongst their fan base via a drastic change in the creative department which I recently discussed.

GEAR is a small promotion created to allow up and coming young wrestlers the opportunity to work with, and learn from, more experienced and established pros in a unique on-the-job training environment while entertaining live crowds along the way. Of course being a “completist” I started with their debut release, the aptly titled First GEAR, recorded on March 21st of this year in Brooksville, Florida.

The Southern California-based, active wrestler-owned Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) promotion boasts a roster of phenomenal athletes and takes a somewhat tongue-in-cheek approach to the business. Their incredible and affordable 3-disc collection called PWG Sells Out: The Best of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Volume 1 was my introduction to the fed.

While the 2001 storyline of WWF’s invasion by the WCW/ECW “Alliance” was generally regarded as a horribly botched flop and a rushed, uninteresting, unfulfilling waste of one of the biggest potential money-making angles of all time, a bright spot emerged from the endless stream of WrestleCrap and provided some hot matches, namely the feud between Stone Cold Steve Austin and former Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle over the World Wrestling Federation Championship.

TODAY’S ISSUE: Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

Regardless of the genre, fans are often draw like flies to the big name events, the classics, the famous must-see editions that everyone always talks about. But sometimes you get lucky and stumble on a hidden gem, a rockin’ B-side track (for those who remember 45 rpm vinyl) or relatively unknown find that might not have been critically acclaimed, but pleases you as a consumer even so. That’s what I discovered in a Ring of Honor DVD I watched this week titled Caged Rage.

By now, everyone who cares already knows that Ring of Honor owner Cary Silken and former booker Gabe Sapolsky have parted ways, and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam “Scrap Iron” Pearce was brought in to take over all creative responsibilities for the beloved indy promotion. While some devoted ROHbots are calling this a death knell, I’d rather sit back and see what happens before pronouncing Ring of Honor DOA.

If you show an audience a selfish, dangerous, evil bastard who wants to take things that aren’t rightfully his and hurt people along the way, then most fans will automatically support the forces pitted against them, and roar with support when the bad guys are given their comeuppance.

Character development. It’s one of those phrases you hear insiders discuss regarding ongoing professional wrestling angles and storylines, and it keeps things fresh by ensuring the same folks don’t just do the same things, the same way, week after week and month after month. At least that’s what GOOD character development does.

TODAY’S ISSUE: The evolution of characters and performers.

Unforgiven didn’t exactly live up to my expectations, but it did have a few things I enjoyed, and without watching any of the weekly episodes between the two ppvs, I decided to check out the follow-up last weekend.

When Wrestling’s Country Kitchen opened for dinner, it got me thinking about the legends of American professional wrestling. Norine Stice is hopefully going to continue cooking up wonderful batches of goodies focused on the elder statesmen of the squared circle like Harley Race, Gorgeous George, Bruiser Brody, and the Funk family, so let’s take a look at the men who made a dramatic impact on the US wrestling scene during my 25 years as a fan of this unique performance art.