MV Young

As a commentator for a local Pittsburgh promotion, I get the chance to call matches for a lot of talented people and there are some that have a chance to go further than just wrestling in front of a few hundred fans on the independent scene. A few of these competitors that immediately come to mind are Storm Academy graduates, Jack Pollock and Bryan Bowers, both whom make my work easier with their always solid in ring work. While Bowers is relatively new to the game, Pollock is one of the most underrated talents in the Pittsburgh area and I would recommend anyone unfamiliar to find some of his work online because he has the talent to make it to a bigger stage. Still, the independents have a draw to them and specifically the Pittsburgh area brings the blue collar atmosphere of the region to its wrestling. The storied history of Bruno Sammartino, Shane Douglas, Kurt Angle, and others have inspired competitors from the area to chase the dream of professional wrestling fame. Earlier this year, I was discussing the format of the TV tapings for that night's event when I saw and unfamiliar name listed on the run sheet, Mike Young. At first I thought it sounded like an 80s jobber, but when I actually talked to him to get his background prior to the show, it was interesting to hear that he trained under the tutelage of WWE Hall Of Famers, Scott Hall and Larry Zybyskso. I had never heard of or saw him wrestle before and in some cases, if you haven't heard of a competitor, it's possible you're going to witness a train wreck, as rookies are still in the learning process. However, Young showed poise and skills beyond his years, delivering a solid performance for his promotion debut.

I was surprised and impressed with his ability, especially for being roughly two years into his career so, what was the foundation for this rookie prodigy? The story starts not too long ago in 2002 when at age 7, Mike became fascinated with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and it led to him ordering the Summer Slam pay-per-view that year without knowing exactly who all the participants were on the card. The Lesnar-Rock bout had a profound effect on him and he searched for more notable contests. He found footage of a series of Kurt Angle matches, which he considers some of his favorite bouts. Soon, he discovered Youtube and watched as much wrestling as he possibly could, spending hours watching classic ECW footage, as well as seeking independent wrestling through Ring Of Honor during one of its peaks in 2006.

Mike became a die hard fans of the industry, but soon began dreaming of a career inside the ring ropes after he finished high school. Initially, Young planned to start the training process in his hometown, but when a job opportunity led to his family moving to Florida, he followed with his sights set on the WWE Performance Center.

"As far as my training in Florida, I had  planned to train at the PWX academy since I was in high school. I planned on starting right after I graduated. However, during my senior year of high school my father was offered a job in the Orlando area. This was right around the time WWE had announced that the performance center was being built in Orlando so the naive 18 year old version of me thought that wrestling in that area would increase my chances of being signed. I chose the Scott Hall and Larry Zbysko endorsed Team Vision Dojo that was within a mile of the performance center," he said.

The Team Vision Dojo brought a variety of trainers into the facility, including  Lince Dorado, Chasyn Rance, and Aaron Epic. There were also frequent visits from former WWE stars Ricardo Rodriguez and Alex Porteau for training sessions, which Young considered a valuable experience. After five months at the dojo, Mike Young made his pro wrestling debut in front of a small crowd in 2013 and he impressed his trainers, as he applied many of the dojo lessons in front of the live audience. During his time in Florida, he wrestled a few matches for notable independent Full Impact Pro, but he wanted to compete in his hometown, just as some of the legends that inspired him to purse a career inside the ropes.

Ironically, it was another Pittsburgh native and WWE Hall Of Famer, Larry Zbysko that was pivotal to Mike's return to Pittsburgh and Young said, The most important talk I had with Larry Z was the week before Wrestlemania 30. He was going to Wrestlemania access and I drove him to the airport.  I told him about how I loved wrestling in Florida, but how I missed PA and felt like I wasn't finished there. He told me that I had a good look and potential and to not give it up, but to go back to PA to go to college.That was all I had to hear. I moved back on my own to PA a month later." Aside from Zbysko's advice, Mike spoke on his interaction with Scott Hall saying, "I didn't get to talk to Hall as much as Larry, but there were a few instances at practice where Hall complimented me and I remember feeling ecstatic about having Razor Ramon compliment me."

After returning to Pittsburgh in 2014, Mike transformed to "MV Young" as a representation of the progress he made in his career and continues to wrestle regularly for a variety of promotions. When asked about his goals, MV said, "Living on my own paying my own bills, it really gives you extra motivation to "make it". I want to be a top indie guy and ultimately be In the WWE." MV Young also plans to study Sports Entertainment management as a college major next fall as another potential career besides wrestling. If MV Young becomes a superstar in pro wrestling remains to be seen, but it's certainly commendable that he's chasing the dream of pro wrestling stardom.

The WWE/ESPN deal

This past Tuesday, John Cena was featured on the launch of a weekly WWE segment on Sports Center as part of the WWE/ESPN deal that was previously announced. Essentially, a weekly WWE segment will bring viewers from outside the typical ESPN demographic to watch their network and wrestling related topics proved to be successful, as the WWE content featured on ESPN has always done strong ratings. Speaking of ratings, both networks have reportedly hit some what of a slump and co-promotion could spark things or at least provide a fresh dynamic. For the WWE, they are competing with some of their toughest competition of the year with the MLB playoffs and Monday Night Football opposite of Raw. Despite loading the show with Stone Cold, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar etc. this past week drew 3.35 million viewers, which is one of the lowest ratings of the year, but not necessarily uncommon during the playoffs. That said, it still has to be somewhat concerning to WWE brass that they put nearly every possible major star they could on TV, but it just didn't garner the viewers. In my opinion, it probably indicates the lack of emotional investment in many of the current characters on the roster and the lack of investment could be a direct result of the business being over exposed. It's more difficult to get the main stream audience to buy into a character when they are repeatedly reminded that the performer is just a character. Granted, you can't insult the viewers and try to convince them that everything is real, but you don't have to blatantly expose it either. Technically, it actually opens the door to rejuvenate the believability of the product if the fans assume they know everything because if a character is presented with enough realism, you can get the crowd to question the line between reality and storyline, which Bray Wyatt did to some degree during his initial push. Brock Lesnar, arguably the WWE's top draw in the past few years, is another prime example of how a legitimate presentation can draw money. When Lesnar throws a car door literally into the second row, it's vastly different than the majority of the over scripted promos that are usually featured on WWE TV.

That being said, the ESPN deal gives the WWE more main stream publicity and can be a way to give fans a review of the angles from Raw if they didn't tune into the show, potentially generating some buzz for them to watch the following week. ESPN had a dip in ratings recently, mostly because many sports fans will look toward local coverage for their local teams, as it provided more detailed analysis. It should also be considered that while football and basketball have a national draw, baseball and hockey are more regional in popularity, which is another reason some fans will follow local coverage. Similar to WWE, the ESPN network has a lot of competition within its respective field and it makes sense for them to build towards a more diverse demographic.

Despite the initial outrage of scripted WWE TV invading the legitimate sports landscape, it should be mentioned that this is a win-win situation. More specifically, the die hard sports fans that think carny pro wrestling is staining real sports should realize that ANYTHING on main stream television is entertainment designed to generate ratings and thus, ad revenue, which is very similar to the WWE's objective for Raw. There's a reason there are such boastful and diverse pairs of hosts on ESPN, ratings. Even some of the more traditionally formatted ESPN content, such as Mike and Mike, which avoids some of the more overtly ratings driven tactics because of its time slot, still has Greeny as the somewhat timid analyst and Golic for the brute that brings the former player aspect. A prime example of the "entertainment first" aspect of ESPN is the "First Take" show that features debates between professional troll, Skip Bayless and passionate sports reporter, Stephen A. Smith. Bayless takes to the defense of some of the more polarizing figures, such as Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, and Johny Manziel while Stephen A. argues the more logical points. The point being, the usual ESPN viewers aren't going to tune out because of a weekly WWE segment and if anything it gets non typical viewers to watch Sports Center so there's no real harm done to either brand. Would it be somewhat goofy to see an outlandish wrestling angle follow NHL highlights? Probably, but again, its about the ratings and a weekly segment isn't going to jeopardize the credibility of ESPN.

The bottom line is, the WWE is a global product and ESPN is still a media power house so it's a good deal for everyone. Plus, if it's packaged right, the WWE spot could be seen as an entertaining variety aspect of Sports Center. Some sports fans might complain about staged wrestling appearing along with the legitimate competition of other sports, but if they are still watching, does it matter? Keep in mind, ESPN or any other network are as much about entertainment and ratings than anything else, which is exactly the point of the WWE/ESPN deal.

The Journey of Jordynne Grace

At 15, most young ladies are listening to pop groups that won't be relevant the following year or deciding if they are "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob," but that certainly wasn't the case for independent women's wrestler, Jordynne Grace. For her, the age of 15 meant an introduction into the world of professional wrestling as an in ring trainee and it started her journey to wrestling in several different states, as well as other countries in just a few short years. Growing up, the Texas native watched the WWE product often, but it was the live experience of attending independent shows in her early years that prompted her to purse a career in the squared circle. In 2010, she found a wrestling school in Texas, but faced a unique situation when her family planned to relocate. "The only issue was I lived in the city and my mother wanted to move to the country. I had a job at 15 so I asked to move out and go to school/continue wrestling. My mom, of course, didn’t like that but she knew I really wanted to wrestle and stay in Austin, so she let me. My family has always been extremely supportive of my career path." she said.

Living close to the Mexican boarder, Jordynne was given the opportunity to train with the women's group, Lucha Libre Femenil south of the boarder, but the rookie experienced a sense of culture shock when she entered the country. She spoke no Spanish, wasn't initially familiar with the intricacies of the lucha style, and was leery of some of the more notorious urban sections of the country. When asked about her time learning her craft in Mexico she said, "The main thing I learned was how to protect myself extremely well, because the women over there wrestle really stiff, verging on dangerous. So I learned pretty quickly how to prevent injury." At the age of just 16, Jordynne made her debut in Mexico and has even returned since then for a few extended tours with the promotion.

When she returned to the United States, she continued training at the AAPW school where she started and worked extensively in Texas. A bright student, Grace was able to graduate at 16 and wanted to compete as much as possible so she relocated to St. Louis as apart of a group that wanted to further their wrestling skills. While wrestling in St. Louis she met and bonded with independent stand out, Johnathan Gresham and relocated to Atlanta before eventually settling in eastern Pennsylvania. In 2014, she began to make a name for herself using an athletic and strength based style, and since that time has been afford opportunities with some of the more well known independent groups. Combat Zone Wrestling, IWA Mid South, Beyond Wrestling, and dozens of others have all been added to her resume, as she has become one of the rising talents on the independent scene. However, competing on such a regular and diverse schedule doesn't come without it's share of traveling, which can be as challenging as in ring competition. Jordynne estimates that she has wrestled in nearly two dozen states and spoke about the travel saying, "After being in so many cars, planes, and buses and traveling to states that I’m not in more than eight hours before leaving again it’s pretty tiring at this point." It speaks volumes to the versatility that she brings to the table, considering that each time Grace began working in a different part of the country, she had to prove her skills to a whole new audience and received positive reviews for her work.

When she turned 18, Jordynne's athletic background from wrestling prompted her to pursue a certification in personal training so she studied it and passed the test to become a certified personal trainer a few months later. She currently works for Planet Fitness and Gold's Gym while wrestling a full schedule, which is another sign of her dedication to the industry.

The cities of Chicago, Monterrey, Philadelphia and many others decorate Jordynne Grace's wrestling resume, but perhaps the most impressive aspect of her career is her determination to be successful. While still in school, she decided to wanted to become a professional wrestler and five years later, she has worked for dozens of promotions. At 19, the prime of her career is still ahead of her, but Grace already has plans for the future, potentially opening her own gym after her wrestling career. It's somewhat ironic that Jordynne has made a career of traveling a variety of places because it could come full circle for her with a return to Texas being one of her goals saying, "To move back to Texas and be with my family while being flown to shows around the United States." One thing is for sure, Jordynne Grace is an athletic young prospect that has wrestled in many states and internationally in just a few years, and she certainly has the determination to be successful on a major stage.

James Storm signed for NXT

Less than 24 hours after the stellar NXT special on the WWE Network, it was revealed at the next set of tapings that former TNA star, James Storm was signed to compete for the brand. First, it should be mentioned that it's great to see Storm land a job in the WWE after an abrupt exit from TNA and the continued uncertainty that surrounds the Nashville based promotion. Storm, one of many that was completely underutilized in TNA, has the talent to work on a main stage and it's another solid veteran signing for NXT.

A nearly two decade veteran of the business, James Storm initially gained notoriety in the early days of TNA, where he worked from the inaugural show until his departure this past July. Originally, a member of America's Most Wanted, Storm and Chris Harris had a good run as one of the top tag teams, and had memorable matches during the "Asylum era" of the company. In 2006, America's Most Wanted concluded and it was generally thought that Chris Harris would have the better run going forward, but that wasn't the case. Storm continued to evolve into a well rounded performer, while Chis Harris had a cup of coffee in the WWE as Braden Walker and faded into obscurity. Despite a lack of any real direction booking wise, Storm had a solid series of matches during the next few years and eventually joined Bobby Roode to form Beer Money. During their time as a team, Beer Money was the top team in the promotion and one of the organization's most entertaining acts.

In 2011, James Storm was introduced to the TNA World Heavyweight title picture and ironically, it was the start of TNA underutilizing him. Storm was becoming one of the promotion's top stars and his blue collar character was extremely over with the audience. There were some similarities to Stone Cold Steve Austin, who praised Storm's work, but he did enough to make the persona his own in TNA. After the Bound For Glory series, Storm defeated Kurt Angle to win the title, but dropped the belt to Bobby Roode a week later. Keep in mind, Roode won the Bound For Glory series that year to get a title shot, but was defeated by Angle. As I said at the time, if Roode was going to eventually win the title anyway, why not book him to defeat Angle in the finals? Wouldn't it have made Roode look stronger if he won the title in the finals? Instead, the booking made Storm look weak because he only had the title for a short run and it made Roode look secondary to a former WWE star when he didn't defeat Angle for the championship. Roode is a great talent and had a decent run with the belt, but if TNA was going to book Storm as the champion, they should have at least given him a decent run, especially considering how over he was with the crowd.

From there, Storm eventually returned to the tag division and while he had another run as a tag champion, it was more of a throw together team with Gunner and not nearly as popular as his previous tag team run. In 2014, Storm was booked in a cult leader angle and despite random members being added, Storm made it work with some great mic skills and even without too many major angles to work, it provided some entertaining TV. As mentioned, Storm left TNA in July after working for the company during its entire existence and there was some speculation he could sign to work for Global Force Wrestling.

Ultimately, Storm was underutilized in TNA and they missed the boat on him, but that's nothing new for the company. During his initial push, Storm could have been used to help establish the TNA brand as something other than WWE lite, but it was a missed opportunity and again, that's nothing new for TNA. Storm is a solid in ring competitor and he did the best he could with whatever he was booked to do in TNA, which is why Storm is a great signing for NXT. He's versatile enough to adapt to a new system and it seems like he will do well in the NXT environment. It's a win-win situation because Storm gets a platform to apply his trade and his veteran experience could help the younger talent. It's also great to see that he will retain his name and character for NXT because sometimes a specific formula works for a performer and it would be counter productive to spin it just to be able to put the WWE stamp on it. Samoa Joe is another example of this and he has done well so far in his NXT career. Granted, Storm already has several years of network TV exposure so some WWE fans will know who he is, but I think the reasoning behind certain talent keeping the names they used prior to their WWE career could be simpler. This is just a guess, but the WWE is the top promotion in the United States and if a particular talent would go elsewhere using the same name they used while wrestling in NXT, would it really be any threat to WWE? The point being, James Storm is a solid signing for the WWE and he provides some substance to go along with the sizzle of the NXT brand. The debut of Storm allows NXT to remain strong even if certain competitors get transferred to the main roster and assuming he has a decent contact, Storm could make a WWE career out of his work at NXT, which would further establish it as another WWE brand instead of just a developmental system. The bottom line is, James Storm deserves the opportunity and he will probably have a solid run in NXT.

The career of Brian Pillman

October 5, 1997 marked the passing of Brian Pillman, who competed the night before at a WWF house show and was scheduled to appear at that night's pay-per-view event. The broadcast of "Bad Blood" opened with WWF owner Vince McMahon informing the viewing audience that Pillman was found dead in his hotel room at the age of 35 and a 10 bell salute followed the next night on Raw. Nearly two decades later, Brian Pillman is still remembered, specifically through a DVD release on his life in 2006 and the accessibility to classic footage through the WWE Network, but the true impact of his career might not be realized to many fans.

Fighting to survive from the start of his life, Brian Pillman underwent dozens of throat surgeries to remove cancerous polyps and as a result of the procedures, he developed his trademark raspy voice. Pillman continued to defy the odds, as he played football in college, but went undrafted so he decided to try out for his hometown team, the Cincinnati Bengals. Many thought Pillman's statue would prevent him from landing a spot on an NFL team, but he was signed to the Bengals in 1984. While Pillman weighed only 225 LBS during most of his career, his determination allowed him to gain notoriety on the field, which prompted his teammates to vote that he receive the Ed Block Courage Award. After his time with the Bengals, Pillman played briefly for the Buffalo Bills before going to Canada to play in the CFL, which opened the door for his pro wrestling career. While in Canada, Pillman began training in the legendary Hart dungeon and debuted for Stampede Wrestling in 1986.

Within just a few years, Brian Pillman's aerial skills got him noticed in America and he signed a contract with WCW in 1989. During his nearly seven year run in the Turner organization, Brian Pillman was a true innovator in many different aspect of the sport. More specifically, his matches with Japanese legend, Jushin "Thunder" Liger in the early 90s put a foundation and blue print in place for the cruiser weight division that would become one of the highlights of WCW programming a few years later. Pillman was actually the first WCW Light Heavyweight champion, which was a short lived belt, but it was essentially the predecessor to the cruiser weight  title. Pillman brought a style that was rarely seen on TV in the United States and was a pioneer of the American cruiser weight style. His career continued to evolve when the Hollywood Blondes were formed in 1993, and they had a great series of matches with Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. "Stunning" Steve Austin and "Flying" Brian Pillman were poised to become the top team in WCW, but the political climate within the organization saw the conclusion of the duo less than a year after their rise within the ranks. In my opinion, if the Holly Woods Blondes had remained a team for a few more years, they would have probably been mentioned on the same tier as many of the top tag teams in history, but they just didn't get the chance to truly establish themselves as a team.

As his WCW career progressed, Pillman resumed his classic series of matches with Jushin Liger, including the first match in the history of Monday Nitro when the show debuted in 1995. During a brief stint as a member of the four horsemen, he began to evolve his character to an unpredictable and unstable competitor. Pillman took it a step further and didn't break character even when he was backstage, leading to speculation among insiders in the business that he might be legitimately crazy. In reality, Brian Pillman was an incredibly smart businessman, as only his closest friends in the sport knew he was just trying to make his new "loose cannon" persona as believable as possible and in the process, he became a priority for all three major companies to sign just months before his WCW deal was set to expire. Basically, Pillman was maximizing his earning potential and his PPV bout with Kevin Sullivan enhanced it. Originally booked as a "respect match," Pillman grabbed the mic after a brief scuffle with Sullivan in the ring and said, "I respect you, booker man!" before he exited the ring during the live show. His reference to Kevin Sullivan's work behind the scenes as the booker of WCW became the talk of the industry and being one of the smartest minds in the industry, Sullivan knew the worked shoot would increase Pillman's value before his deal with WCW concluded. At the time, many WCW officials were unaware of the plan that Pillman and Sullivan had prior to the match, and they thought Pillman legitimately left during the pay-per-view.

Following his departure from WCW, Brian Pillman made a surprise debut at the ECW arena that would launch of series of "shoot promos," which continued to enhance his loose cannon character. At the time, he was expected to sign a contract with the WWF, but in April 1996 he was involved in a very serious car accident. Pillman was in a coma for a week, his ankle was shattered, and his wrestling career was in doubt. However, he showed the same tenacity he displayed his entire life when he recovered enough to return to the wrestling spotlight, even returning to ECW on crutches to continue his tirade toward WCW on the mic. Keep in mind, Pillman was cutting "shoot promos" before the business was completely exposed as entertainment and in many respects, the loose cannon persona was revolutionary.  A few month later while he was still recovering from ankle fusion surgery, Brian Pillman signed with the WWF and worked as a commentator until he returned to the ring. Sadly, Pillman was never the same after the car accident and his close friend, the legendary Jim Ross speculated on the Pillman DVD release that he died from the sadness of not being able to perform in the squared circle the way he had previously. However, when Pillman started wrestling again, he joined the Hart Foundation, using his history with the Hart family for the storyline. It's interesting to note that Brian Pillman is the only competitor to be a member of the Four Horsemen and the Hart Foundation, two of the most legendary stables in the history of pro wrestling. He was also involved in the infamous gun angle on Raw that many viewers thought was real because of how it was portrayed and it's a segment that's still talked about today. Prior to his death, Pillman had a memorable feud with Goldust and it was the last major storyline of his career. Despite the initial speculation of an accidental overdose from the medication for his ankle injury, an autopsy later revealed that an diagnosed heart condition caused a heart attack.

Brian Pillman defied the odds and endured many surgeries to  combat polyps during his early years. He had the determination to play pro football and won the admiration of his teammates through the Ed Block award. He started in the wrestling business when light heavyweight wrestling was rarely seen and he was offered a contact with a major organization within just a few years. His athletic and aerial style helped solidify the foundation of much of the high flying wrestling that is seen today. Before CM Punk dropped a pipe bomb, Brain Pillman was cutting a promo on the booker man that even had those in the business guessing as to the reality of the situation and there wouldn't be a "lunatic fringe" without the loose cannon. Pillman was ahead of his time in many aspects and sadly, he probably won't be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame because of the circumstances of his death, but he's undoubtedly an under rated legend.