Post by Jackie Lee on Jun 4, 2002 8:25:34 GMT -6
The Jaguar’s Claws[/size][/font]
Welcome to the second of my now regular columns in GZW Hotwire magazine. I’m Jackie Lee, the first HKWF Hong Kong Champion, and colour commentator for GZW. As I’m sure you know, this column is no holds barred, no nonsense, and the claws will definitely be out!
You’d think the sensible thing right after a Pay Per View would be to do some sort of review of the event, wouldn’t you? Well not me! This is the Jaguar’s Claws, and I write about what I want! This week’s topic is something that I know particularly bothers my commentating partner, Siu Ann Wong: the increasing number of ‘extreme’/ ‘hardcore’/ no holds barred type matches in professional wrestling.
How many wrestlers have signature weapons these days? A signature weapon seems to be almost as much of a necessity as a pair of wrestling boots in the current wrestling climate. Just looking at the superstars of GZW, it’s amazing how many of the roster clings to such a thing. There’s Magic with his sledgehammer, El Gambit with his cosh, Jacob Helmsley with his pipe, Gideon with those barbed wire gloves, even the Brother}{ood seem to be attempting to carve a niche with signed baseball bats. It seems to me that in a market where you can actually buy imitation El Gambit coshes (only $9.99 from , that this is a trend that isn’t going to go away.
Maybe I’m getting old, but even I am starting to get worried. Any fans of HKWF will know the score: Siu Ann always used to get upset, and I’d be loving it when steel chairs, tables, ladders, trash cans and whatever else came into play. But now, even I am a little concerned. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a place for the extreme style in professional wrestling, and I do still enjoy watching it, but has this whole fashion of hardcore gone just a little too far?
It’s no secret that Tate ‘Troublesome’ Edmonson was a true advocate of real wrestling skill, amateur wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling. Yet even before his untimely death there were wrestlers being thrown off cages, piledrivers from off the top of the zerotron through tables to the concrete floor, and people being run over by motor vehicles. Near fatal grudges seem to develop within weeks as opposed to months and years like it used to. Sure, I contemplated smacking Masato Anjor over the head with a baseball bat, but we were bitter enemies for years, not weeks.
Looking at last weekend’s Pay Per View, you can see exactly what I’m talking about. The StormRiders’s career was risked when they fell fifteen feet in a dumpster, Nathaniel Davis’ career was risked when he powerbombed four times (once onto a steel chair), four young bucks put it all on the line in a truly sadistic match with weapons and long distance falls not only possible but encouraged, Elijah Threatt’s career was risked when he went flying from the top of a cage through a table, and a T-Rex risked two careers when; wrapped in barbed wire; he bodysplashed Magic through a table onto a set of steel steps. That was just one event. All those terrible risks, and career ending attacks were in just one event.
It seems that the young men of today think they’re invincible. The ambition that burns seems to make them prepared to take any risk to win a match and gain a reputation. I guess that’s the generation thing! Look at me, Sebastian Covenant, Chris Sharp, even Nathaniel Davis and Sincere: we all took it slowly and made real careers, and now we’re legends. Then look at Samuel Knight, and you’ll see what risk taking can do! Only a year ago, he was on top of the world with the tag team titles, and now he’s in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
I can’t deny how much I love the extreme stuff; I think I always will, but I am just fear for the safety of the youngsters out there in the ring. I guess if they want to do that kind of thing, it’s their perogative, and I’m certainly not going to stop them. However, my grim prediction is a hell of a lot more Samuel Knights than Jackie Lees from this generation of wrestling superstars.
Well that’s it for the Jaguar’s Claws this week, so until next time: Sayonara!
Welcome to the second of my now regular columns in GZW Hotwire magazine. I’m Jackie Lee, the first HKWF Hong Kong Champion, and colour commentator for GZW. As I’m sure you know, this column is no holds barred, no nonsense, and the claws will definitely be out!
You’d think the sensible thing right after a Pay Per View would be to do some sort of review of the event, wouldn’t you? Well not me! This is the Jaguar’s Claws, and I write about what I want! This week’s topic is something that I know particularly bothers my commentating partner, Siu Ann Wong: the increasing number of ‘extreme’/ ‘hardcore’/ no holds barred type matches in professional wrestling.
How many wrestlers have signature weapons these days? A signature weapon seems to be almost as much of a necessity as a pair of wrestling boots in the current wrestling climate. Just looking at the superstars of GZW, it’s amazing how many of the roster clings to such a thing. There’s Magic with his sledgehammer, El Gambit with his cosh, Jacob Helmsley with his pipe, Gideon with those barbed wire gloves, even the Brother}{ood seem to be attempting to carve a niche with signed baseball bats. It seems to me that in a market where you can actually buy imitation El Gambit coshes (only $9.99 from , that this is a trend that isn’t going to go away.
Maybe I’m getting old, but even I am starting to get worried. Any fans of HKWF will know the score: Siu Ann always used to get upset, and I’d be loving it when steel chairs, tables, ladders, trash cans and whatever else came into play. But now, even I am a little concerned. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a place for the extreme style in professional wrestling, and I do still enjoy watching it, but has this whole fashion of hardcore gone just a little too far?
It’s no secret that Tate ‘Troublesome’ Edmonson was a true advocate of real wrestling skill, amateur wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling. Yet even before his untimely death there were wrestlers being thrown off cages, piledrivers from off the top of the zerotron through tables to the concrete floor, and people being run over by motor vehicles. Near fatal grudges seem to develop within weeks as opposed to months and years like it used to. Sure, I contemplated smacking Masato Anjor over the head with a baseball bat, but we were bitter enemies for years, not weeks.
Looking at last weekend’s Pay Per View, you can see exactly what I’m talking about. The StormRiders’s career was risked when they fell fifteen feet in a dumpster, Nathaniel Davis’ career was risked when he powerbombed four times (once onto a steel chair), four young bucks put it all on the line in a truly sadistic match with weapons and long distance falls not only possible but encouraged, Elijah Threatt’s career was risked when he went flying from the top of a cage through a table, and a T-Rex risked two careers when; wrapped in barbed wire; he bodysplashed Magic through a table onto a set of steel steps. That was just one event. All those terrible risks, and career ending attacks were in just one event.
It seems that the young men of today think they’re invincible. The ambition that burns seems to make them prepared to take any risk to win a match and gain a reputation. I guess that’s the generation thing! Look at me, Sebastian Covenant, Chris Sharp, even Nathaniel Davis and Sincere: we all took it slowly and made real careers, and now we’re legends. Then look at Samuel Knight, and you’ll see what risk taking can do! Only a year ago, he was on top of the world with the tag team titles, and now he’s in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
I can’t deny how much I love the extreme stuff; I think I always will, but I am just fear for the safety of the youngsters out there in the ring. I guess if they want to do that kind of thing, it’s their perogative, and I’m certainly not going to stop them. However, my grim prediction is a hell of a lot more Samuel Knights than Jackie Lees from this generation of wrestling superstars.
Well that’s it for the Jaguar’s Claws this week, so until next time: Sayonara!
