Thursday, August 6, 2015

Let’s Hear It For Wrestling

How can you like wrestling? It’s a question I have often been asked. Usually I don’t bother answering. It’s something I have had a strong bond with for most of my life. Put it this way whenever I hear horse racing called the sport of kings, I get offended. We all know this title is reserved for professional wrestling.

Sure there is the entertainment side and as important as that is, it only goes so far. What is appealing are the wrestlers that sacrifice and overcome the odds. I have an emotional connection to so many wrestlers that I can’t write about them all at once (it would go on and on and I would use up too much material). After contemplating it for far too long for this blog I decided to write about CM Punk. He likes Pepsi, comic books, was a great wrestler and was anti establishment. Definitely someone I could relate too.

I would rate the moment when Punk defeated John Morrison to win the ECW Championship as a genuine highlight of my life. It seemed so unlikely that it was unbelievable. Then there was the time on Raw when Batista (actually doing something useful) beat down then World Heavyweight Champion Edge and left him lying in the ring., Punk ran to the ring carrying his Money in the Bank contract.  Soon after, as Edge was struggling to get up, Punk hit him with the Go to Sleep and won the World Heavyweight Championship. Not having the technology I have now I watched this with my carer who was forced to endure it. He simply said you obviously enjoyed that, noticing I could not contain myself.

And of course there was Money in the Bank in 2011. In the main event Punk defeated John Cena to become the WWE Champion. In the storyline it was his final night under contract. Thankfully I watched this alone because while it didn’t match the ECW title win, it had it all. Cena lost, Punk won, it upset the WWE hierarchy and the crowd (his hometown of Chicago) was insane. It is one of the greatest moments in professional wrestling history. For diehard fans times like this are something else. You can’t help get involved in the journeys of your favourite wrestlers. And while it is all scripted there is always this feeling that it’s never going to happen. This is why It is so awesome when it does.

Locally this Saturday will see one of these moments. This is because the first MCW Intercommonwealth Champion will be crowned. The match is Mr Juicy versus Dowie James and I will be losing sleep thinking about it.

At the last MCW event both were given time on the microphone to talk and we were all captivated. My friends and I were torn about who we want to win.

You see Juicy is a crowd pleaser. It’s easy to assume that he is there to entertain given his natural ability to do so. To question his in ring ability though is a mistake. He has improved dramatically and in my opinion had the best match last month.

James on the other hand is almost the complete opposite. He is as good as any wrestler I have seen. It is somewhat surprising he hasn’t been MCW Champion. He is entertaining enough (his introduction with his continual rapid increase in height and weight particularly enjoyable) but is not as natural as Mr Juicy.

As I said choosing the winner is incredibly difficult. From a wrestling perspective it’s hard to go past James. I also feel like I have inherited him as a favourite as my mate Grant knows him personally. I haven’t forgotten either that the nicest man in Melbourne JXT again missed out on his shot, maybe he will intervene. What I don’t want is a heel turn (where a wrestler goes bad). I have been thinking that James former tag team partner Adam Brooks could return. He might distract James to give Mr Juicy the win. I have too much to think about this but it would be a way to keep everyone happy.

However it goes down though it will be awesome. I couldn’t say it any better than the MCW fan with a high pitched voice (who can take credit for the title of this blog) who said,  “I don’t care who wins”. I agree, although I won’t be able to relax until it’s over.