When "Doll Parts" is blaring through the TV screen and the trouble making trio of the Doll House appear, you get the sense of some very unique athletes, both in appearance and ability. The longest running members of the Doll House are Marti Belle and Jade, real life best friends that worked their way through the independent scene until they began wrestling on national television. Marti brings her Dominican heritage and trademark afro to the ring to compliment her wrestling style. Jade, of an African American and Korean background, brings fierce strength and a hard hitting move set to the table. Again, the unique look and skills are brought to the table, but Jade's journey to the Impact Zone started on a very ordinary path.
Long before she was suplexing and Joshi kicking her opponents in the Impact Zone as Jade, Stephanie Bell was a fan of the sport that she watched with her family. A self proclaimed "tom boy," Stephanie gravitated towards the action of the business and idolized the female athletes that made her believe stardom was possible for her as well.
"My dad got me into watching it as a family when I was young. My dad
and sister grew out of it, but I kept watching. My favorite wrestlers
growing up were Lita and Chyna. I was never able
to play football, but once I saw girls go at it in the ring with the guys, I
knew that's what I wanted to do," she said.
Always an athlete, she pursued volleyball during her freshman year of high school and was highly regarded during the next four years on the court, which prompted Virginia Union University to offer her a scholarship. She decided to major in information technology and after two years at Union, she transferred to continue playing for another two years at Marymount University, where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 2012.
During her time spiking the volleyball over the net, she decided to step into the squared circle to pursue a pro wrestling career and began training at a small school in Virgina in 2007. The two hour commute to the training center speaks volumes to her dedication to the business, as she managed to study, finish assignments, and then practiced landing on the canvas.
"Balancing school and volleyball , I could only attend training once or twice a week," she recalls.
Known as Mia Yim, she made her pro debut in 2009 and worked the smaller shows around her hometown, but wanted more seasoning so she started training at both the Combat Zone Wrestling and Ring Of Honor centers the following year. The experience of learning from some of the more notable independent groups in the United States led to several opportunities to wrestle for REINA in Japan in 2011.
"I got hooked up by Hailey Hatred. I toured to Japan seven times and each
time was a blast! I got the best training there as it was several shows a
week plus training almost every day. I got to learn about fitness and
diet, plus different styles such as strong style, lucha,
and MMA. I got to perfect my kicking style and high flying. It's so
physically intense," she said.
Along with the world famous Ribera Steak House Jacket, Mia brought a wealth of knowledge back to the United States and soon applied it on the independent circuit, where she began to gain more notoriety. In 2012, Yim worked a feud with CZW veteran, Greg Excellent and the intergender matches, including a spectacular TLC bout, were considered breakout performances for her.
"It was a lot of fun. I think Greg Excellent is one of the most
underrated entertainers in the wrestling world. I've gotten a lot of
great training at CZW and learned tons. My feud with Excellent pushed me
to my limit and is still my favorite feud I've done."
With an elevated profile, Mia began wrestling nearly a full schedule for a variety of organizations, including the women's group, Shine, where she won the championship during a tour of China in 2014. Along with the that, she won the first Shine tag team titles with Leva Bates, known to NXT fans as Blue Pants. Yim considers her victory during the historic tour of China for Shine one of the highlights of her career.
While she documents her wrestling travels and fitness accomplishments on social media, Mia impresses her nearly 30,000 Twitter follows with photographs that showcase her sculpted muscle from a strict workout plan.
"I always loved the fitness scene and figured it was time for me to make
my body the best it could be. I started researching the healthy
lifestyle and followed it. Had to teach myself self control and
discipline. I wanted to do at least one figure competition but the
minute my coach said that I had to stop wrestling during prep and
training, I couldn't do it since its technically my job. So although I'd
still like to do a competition, wrestling comes first," she said.
Nearly six years of hard work training, wrestling, and learning paid off when Jade debuted as a part of the previously mentioned Doll House on TNA television in 2015. Beautiful outside of the ring, Jade transforms into a wrestling beast inside the ring ropes with vicious strikes and signature pile driver during episodes of Impact.
"I had a tryout and one night only shows in 2010. I finally signed a
contract in 2015. It's been a blast as everyone have been super nice and
it was easy especially since I am in a group with my real life best
friend, Marti Belle," she said.
Outside of the ring, Jade met and bonded with underrated wrestling star, Eddie Kingston. Along with her fitness snap shots, she showcases her English bulldog, Stannis on social media. Despite the national wrestling success and pay-per-view appearances, family is still very important to her as she continues to pursue her goals.
"The funny thing is my mom is very conservative. She doesn't watch and
when she does, she always cringes. My sister only finds it neat when
she's known as my sister. And my dad, he's a tough one. He will want
me to stop and focus on my degree career,which is currently on hold
because of wrestling, but he records all the episodes of TNA I'm on and
makes music videos. He never thought I'd make it to TV. It motivated me
even more to make it. When people ask me who are the top female wrestlers that made a
difference, the group of Sara Del Rey, Daizee haze, Mercedes Martinez.. I
want to be a part of that group. I want to leave a positive mark in
women's wrestling. As far as personal goals, being successful, make as
much money as I can in wrestling and then IT afterwards, having a family
and living comfortable," she said.
Pretty, powerful, determined, and skilled could all describe Jade as her exhibitions of strength helped her obtain a spot on national TV, as well as fuel the female revolution currently taking place in the wrestling business. When she's not pummeling opponents on Pop TV, Jade competes extensively on the independent scene and continues to add to her wrestling resume. It has certainly been an intriguing journey for the young lady that went from spiking the volleyball on the courts in Virgina to becoming one of the top women's wrestlers in the sport on Pop TV.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Bellator 149
Since Viacom bought Bellator MMA in 2011, the company has made strides to establish itself as an eventual alternative to the UFC. Former Strike Force CEO, Scott Coker was named the new president of the group, a working agreement with the Pride-inspired Rizin was established, and Ben Henderson recently decided to ink a deal after his contract with Zuffa concluded. Despite the billions of dollars and media entities that Viacom has behind it, Bellator just wasn't going to be able to go head-to-head with the UFC, in terms of star power, brand identity etc. So, how do you compete with the MMA power house? The business strategy formed to become something different and create an alternative, delivering the type of show fans won't see from Zuffa. Elaborate entrances, aging legends, and novelty acts provided the draw while a solid roster of stars such as Patricio Pitbull brought action to the table.
The problem with novelty acts is, if the fight goes beyond the first few minutes, you could witness a train wreck. The Kimbo/Shamrock card from last year worked almost perfectly for Bellator, as they had a solid under card with good action and the gimmick main event went a minute before Kimbo KO'ed "The world's most dangerous man." After the 52-year-old collapsed to the canvas, I wrote that he shouldn't be allowed to fight again and he tarnished his legacy. I will say the same thing after Bellator 149, it's irresponsible and embarrassing that any company would sign Ken Shamrock to fight.
Last night's card that was televised on Spike TV was a complete embarrassment for Bellator and it make the group look completely bush league. They went too far with the novelty acts and it backfired. Granted, MMA enthusiasts scoff at a washed up Shamrock or a street fighter competing in the pro ranks, but to the casual viewer, it's a draw. The under card was rather uneventful, with the exception of Derek Campos landing vicious punches on veteran slugger Melvin Guillard to win via stoppage.
The main events of the show were memorable...for all the wrong reasons.
The co-main event featured two former Miami street fighters when Youtube star, Kimbo Slice stepped into the cage to fight "Dada 5000." I've said it before, I will give Kimbo credit for putting in the work to attempt to transition into legitimate competition, even at an older age and fighting in a variety of organizations when the opportunity is presented. As seen during his time on the Ultimate Fighter, Kimbo is a humble brawler and his efforts were praised by UFC president, Dana White, who was one of his biggest critics. If anything, it's nice to see Kimbo get film work and more fighting opportunities to support his family, which was highlighted in a recent Spike TV documentary about his life. Dhafir "Dada 5000" Harris went from a back alley brawler to the pros and fought twice before his Bellator debut, but his opponents had one win combined. Many anticipated a wild brawl that would end quickly. Instead, the viewing audience was subjected to 12 minutes of the competitors moving at a snail's pace after a brief shuffle during the opening minute of the contest. This might possibly be the worst MMA bout I've ever seen and the sheer ridiculousness had to be seen to be believed. Kimbo and Dada were so gassed that they could barely keep their hands up while stumbling around the cage. I was honestly hoping "Big John" would make the save for the viewing audience and stop the fight. The finish came went Kimbo landed a moderate hook and Dada slumped towards his opponent before staggering and collapsing to the mat. I don't know if Dada was finished from the punch or the lack of oxygen, but thankfully, the debacle was over.
Post-fight, Kimbo mentioned he was hungry and he would like a Miller lite. Harris was taken from the cage on a stretcher for exhaustion. While I approve of Kimbo getting a paycheck, this was far from a "professional" fight and the results were laughable. Obviously, "Dada 5000" should go back to throwing haymakers in front of the 7-Eleven and hopefully, he uses whatever he got paid to get a new hair cut.
The main event was twenty years in the making as a rematch from the first UFC event took place. It's definitely a novelty act, but it's a novelty that's worthwhile considering the history between the two and their similar age provided an even fight. It was mentioned during the broadcast that Royce Gracie hadn't tapped his fists for bout, which indicated that he didn't plan on throwing any punches so he opted for a series of kicks when the fight started. The history of the Gracie dynasty is well documented and despite being 49, Royce didn't really fight past his prime, deciding instead to focus on teaching at the Gracie schools. Without the extra miles on his body, it was interesting to see what the ju jit su legend brought to the table. Roughly two minutes into the contest, an accidental knee hit Shamrock low and the referee didn't see it, which allowed Royce to land a few ground strikes until it was stopped. The ending was lackluster and controversial, but let's hope this doesn't somehow justify a rematch. The lesson here should be that you can't book a card of just gimmick fighters and expect decent results. Put one sideshow fight on the card to get the casual fans to tune in and allow the current fighters to get some exposure, and provide decent action, which adds substance to the sizzle of the card.
I'm not sure where Bellator goes from here, but I would guess it will be difficult to get the general public to take the promotion seriously after these shenanigans. Keep in mind, the casual viewer isn't going to tune into the lesser known fighters that will actually provide quality bouts so essentially, Bellator is limiting themselves to die hard MMA fans until they produce shows that redeem their credibility after the train wreck that aired on Spike. From a perception stand point, Bellator 149 was a hindered some the progress the company made with the new signings and working agreements last year.
The problem with novelty acts is, if the fight goes beyond the first few minutes, you could witness a train wreck. The Kimbo/Shamrock card from last year worked almost perfectly for Bellator, as they had a solid under card with good action and the gimmick main event went a minute before Kimbo KO'ed "The world's most dangerous man." After the 52-year-old collapsed to the canvas, I wrote that he shouldn't be allowed to fight again and he tarnished his legacy. I will say the same thing after Bellator 149, it's irresponsible and embarrassing that any company would sign Ken Shamrock to fight.
Last night's card that was televised on Spike TV was a complete embarrassment for Bellator and it make the group look completely bush league. They went too far with the novelty acts and it backfired. Granted, MMA enthusiasts scoff at a washed up Shamrock or a street fighter competing in the pro ranks, but to the casual viewer, it's a draw. The under card was rather uneventful, with the exception of Derek Campos landing vicious punches on veteran slugger Melvin Guillard to win via stoppage.
The main events of the show were memorable...for all the wrong reasons.
The co-main event featured two former Miami street fighters when Youtube star, Kimbo Slice stepped into the cage to fight "Dada 5000." I've said it before, I will give Kimbo credit for putting in the work to attempt to transition into legitimate competition, even at an older age and fighting in a variety of organizations when the opportunity is presented. As seen during his time on the Ultimate Fighter, Kimbo is a humble brawler and his efforts were praised by UFC president, Dana White, who was one of his biggest critics. If anything, it's nice to see Kimbo get film work and more fighting opportunities to support his family, which was highlighted in a recent Spike TV documentary about his life. Dhafir "Dada 5000" Harris went from a back alley brawler to the pros and fought twice before his Bellator debut, but his opponents had one win combined. Many anticipated a wild brawl that would end quickly. Instead, the viewing audience was subjected to 12 minutes of the competitors moving at a snail's pace after a brief shuffle during the opening minute of the contest. This might possibly be the worst MMA bout I've ever seen and the sheer ridiculousness had to be seen to be believed. Kimbo and Dada were so gassed that they could barely keep their hands up while stumbling around the cage. I was honestly hoping "Big John" would make the save for the viewing audience and stop the fight. The finish came went Kimbo landed a moderate hook and Dada slumped towards his opponent before staggering and collapsing to the mat. I don't know if Dada was finished from the punch or the lack of oxygen, but thankfully, the debacle was over.
Post-fight, Kimbo mentioned he was hungry and he would like a Miller lite. Harris was taken from the cage on a stretcher for exhaustion. While I approve of Kimbo getting a paycheck, this was far from a "professional" fight and the results were laughable. Obviously, "Dada 5000" should go back to throwing haymakers in front of the 7-Eleven and hopefully, he uses whatever he got paid to get a new hair cut.
The main event was twenty years in the making as a rematch from the first UFC event took place. It's definitely a novelty act, but it's a novelty that's worthwhile considering the history between the two and their similar age provided an even fight. It was mentioned during the broadcast that Royce Gracie hadn't tapped his fists for bout, which indicated that he didn't plan on throwing any punches so he opted for a series of kicks when the fight started. The history of the Gracie dynasty is well documented and despite being 49, Royce didn't really fight past his prime, deciding instead to focus on teaching at the Gracie schools. Without the extra miles on his body, it was interesting to see what the ju jit su legend brought to the table. Roughly two minutes into the contest, an accidental knee hit Shamrock low and the referee didn't see it, which allowed Royce to land a few ground strikes until it was stopped. The ending was lackluster and controversial, but let's hope this doesn't somehow justify a rematch. The lesson here should be that you can't book a card of just gimmick fighters and expect decent results. Put one sideshow fight on the card to get the casual fans to tune in and allow the current fighters to get some exposure, and provide decent action, which adds substance to the sizzle of the card.
I'm not sure where Bellator goes from here, but I would guess it will be difficult to get the general public to take the promotion seriously after these shenanigans. Keep in mind, the casual viewer isn't going to tune into the lesser known fighters that will actually provide quality bouts so essentially, Bellator is limiting themselves to die hard MMA fans until they produce shows that redeem their credibility after the train wreck that aired on Spike. From a perception stand point, Bellator 149 was a hindered some the progress the company made with the new signings and working agreements last year.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Daniel Bryan retirement
Just over two weeks ago, I penned a column about the status of Daniel Bryan and even though I mentioned that I didn't think he would be cleared to return to the ring, I was shocked when it was abruptly announced that he retired last week on Raw. If anything, I assumed since he was cleared by multiple doctors previously, that he might wait until his WWE deal expired and work for New Japan if the WWE didn't want to risk the liability of wrestling there. Take it with a grain of salt, but The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that a few days before the retirement announcement that Bryan had actually requested his release, but was told the WWE could keep him under contract for the duration of his deal because he was on the sidelines for an extended time, similar to the Rey Mysterio situation last year.
Obviously, Daniel Bryan is finished an in ring wrestler and he cited the results of a new concussion test that made the decision for him, as a small lesion was found on his brain, which caused seizures in the past. As I said before, if there was ANY risk of Bryan getting injured again and suffering the effects long after he stopped wrestling, I would rather see him retire than jeopardize his health. The retirement speech was a genuine moment from a great competitor that has a true passion for the squared circle and many consider it one of the most emotional segments in WWE history. As sad as it is that Daniel Bryan had to exit the sport before he could truly have the main event run he was capable of on the global stage, the totality of his career provided proof that he's without question one of the greatest in ring performers of all time.
Long before Daniel Bryan was celebrating as confetti fell around him at the Super Dome in New Orleans at Wrestlemania 30, Bryan Danielson dreamed of wrestling stardom. From the quiet logging town of Aberdeen, WA, Bryan Danielson made the decision early in his youth that he wanted to pursue a career inside the ring ropes and after graduating high school, he relocated to Texas to train at Shawn Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy. Danielson trained at the school alongside other notable stars including Paul London, Lance Cade, Brian Kendrick, and others before making his debut in 1999. That same year, when HBK was booked for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling in Japan as a referee, some of his students were brought along and booked on the card. As "American Dragon," Bryan wore a mask for the Japanese tour and later adopted the name as part of his moniker. Another benefit of learning under Shawn Michaels was that at the age of just 19, Danielson was signed to a WWE developmental deal and sent to Memphis to continue to learn his craft. Memphis was one of the few territories the WWE worked with before their deal with OVW in the early 2000s and it was nowhere near as elaborate as the developmental system in place today. Still, Bryan considered his time in the territory a valuable learning experience, as he had the chance to learn from veterans like William Regal, who he credited during the speech on Raw. After a year under contract, Danielson was released, but this was in 2001 after the WWE roster was flooded with talent from WCW and ECW after both companies closed. Keep in mind, this was also a time frame when the WWE rarely used light heavyweight competitors.
After his released, Danielson went back to his hometown and began wrestling in the north west United States where he participated in one of the most influential tournaments in wrestling history. All Pro Wrestling, the small promotion that was profiled in Beyond The Mat, gathered the top talent in independent wrestling for a two day "King of the Indies" tournament that took place in California in 2001. The event featured several future stars including, AJ Styles, Brian Kendrick, Low Ki, Super Dragon, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, and others. Bryan won the tournament and after viewing the event, former ECW office worker, Gabe Sapolsky was one of the people that generated the concept for Ring Of Honor. It's safe to say that ROH wouldn't exist today without the King Of Indies influence and many wrestlers that worked the tournament played a pivotal role in the early years of the company. In fact, Danielson is considered one of the founding fathers of the promotion that started in the small Murphy Rec Center in Philadelphia in 2002 and he also worked in the main event of its inaugural show.
To detail Danielson's ROH career would be an entire column itself, but from the exposure the upstart league provided, "The American Dragon" wrestled across the country and around the globe for seven years before he inked a WWE deal in 2009. Danielson had some of the best matches in the history of Ring of Honor at a time when the group was considered the best in ring product in the world and when he wasn't working top notch matches there, he was competing international in NOAH in Japan or a variety of independent organizations in Europe. Another notable accomplishment was when he won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag titles with Christopher Daniels' Curry Man character for New Japan in 2004. A few of the many highlights of Bryan's independent career include a tremendous series of matches with Nigel McGuinness, as the two technical grapplers exchanged submission attempts and stiff strikes. Speaking of stiff strikes, Danielson's matches with Kenta and former GHC Heavyweight champion, Takeshi Morashima were among some of the most physical matches in ROH history. The Morashima series was particularly brutal as a clubbing forearm from the Japanese brute caused the American Dragon a serious eye injury. It was determined that surgery was required to repair his detached retina and fractured orbital bone, but he would still compete with an eye patch while it healed. Along with that, thrilling bouts with Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Homicide were all a memorable stage of his career. During Bryan's time there, ROH was primarily a north east promotion and would venture into the mid west for shows in Chicago, but hadn't expanded further at the point. However, Bryan's wrestling ventures took him literally coast-to-coast as he competed semi-regularly for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on the west coast since the promotion launched in 2003, even winning the PWG world championship during his final appearance there before he departed the independent scene to join the WWE in 2009. Aside from the PWG championship, Bryan also had an instrumental run as ROH world champion when he held the title for over a year and a half, which helped further elevate the prestigious of the belt and the promotion.
As mentioned, Danielson signed a WWE deal in 2009 and debuted for the promotion a few months later in 2010. Known as "Daniel Bryan," he was featured on the initial NXT season and received a good crowd reaction. Bryan was briefly released following the infamous "neck tie" incident, but was rehired soon after to continue his WWE run. The next two years could be considered "building blocks" so to speak for Bryan as he won the United States title and the World Heavyweight title, but those scenarios were usually secondary to the WWE title or Raw main events. As the Raw and Smackdown brands merged in 2013, Daniel Bryan was paired with Kane to form an unexpected tag team. The duo provided several entertaining segments and matches as tag champions. The angle itself proved that Bryan was a well rounded performer because he wasn't just a great in ring wrestler, but also an entertaining character. As time progress, Bryan surged in popularity before winning the WWE title at Summer Slam in 2013, only to drop the belt before the show went off the air when Randy Orton cashed in a title shot. As I said at the time, the WWE had a chance to have a PG version of Austin vs. McMahon with the Daniel Bryan/Authority storyline, but he was minimized after the Orton feud. Daniel Bryan wasn't the stereotypical WWE main event star and thus, WWE brass had already decided that even though he was one of the most popular stars on the roster, they weren't going to book him in the title picture.
On January 26, 2014, the WWE audience in attendance at the Royal Rumble at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh had a very direct message to WWE's writing team and the effect of the reaction to the event can still be seen today. After a great match with Bray Wyatt, Bryan returned backstage, but many fans assumed he would be back later in the show to compete for (and hopefully win) the Royal Rumble match. As number 30, Rey Mysterio, entered the Rumble, the fans started a mutiny as their pick for the Rumble hadn't even been given the chance to enter the match. A chorus of boos accompanied the rest of the show, which only intensified when Batista won it and was subjected to the heat that was more directed at management than him. In the weeks that followed, "Daniel Bryan" and "Yes!" chants would interrupt WWE programming as the fans continued to protest WWE's notion that he was a "B+ player." The bottom line is the fans don't want to be told who they should cheer or who they should want to see in the top spots so the response to the Batista/Orton feud remained hostile. Finally, not wanting to see the main event getting booed out of the building at Wrestlemania, the WWE booked Bryan in a storyline that saw him win the championship at Wrestlemania 30.
While the win at Wrestlemania 30 should have been the start of a major main event run for him, it was the peak and perhaps the beginning of the end of his career. Less than a month later, Daniel Bryan suffered a neck injury and was forced to relinquish the title. The following year, when fans again rallied behind Bryan to main event Wrestlemania, he was instead booked for an IC title ladder match and he won it. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion in a match with Sheamus a few weeks later and after nearly a year of waiting to be cleared to return to action, he retired.
Outside of the ring, Daniel Bryan met Connor "The Crusher" Michalek and helped provide memorable experiences for the 8-year-old that was battling brain cancer in 2014, including embracing him at ringside after he won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 30. Connor "The Crusher" tragically passed away, but his bravery touched everyone that heard his story and Connor's Cure was established to benefit cancer research. In 2015, Connor was immortalized alongside many of his pro wrestling heroes when he was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame with the Warrior Courage award, presented to his father Stephen by the later Ultimate Warrior's wife, Dana Warrior.
So, why did so many fans identify with Daniel Bryan? The audience could see an authenticity to him and they saw his passion for the sport. The WWE audience could identify with Daniel Bryan as a genuine competitor that gave 100% every time he stepped into the ring. As I mentioned in the column a few weeks ago, I actually met Daniel Bryan at the World of Wheels convention in Pittsburgh and he was really polite and he seemed happy to be there. Essentially, the WWE audience knew that Daniel Bryan appreciated them as much as they appreciated him. Despite being forced into retirement before he could have the main event run on the global stage, if you consider the entire body of work that he put together during the course of a 15 years in the business, Daniel Bryan had a legendary career.
Daniel Bryan is one of the great in ring wrestlers of all time.
Daniel Bryan is a hero.
Quite simply, Daniel Bryan is pro wrestling.
Obviously, Daniel Bryan is finished an in ring wrestler and he cited the results of a new concussion test that made the decision for him, as a small lesion was found on his brain, which caused seizures in the past. As I said before, if there was ANY risk of Bryan getting injured again and suffering the effects long after he stopped wrestling, I would rather see him retire than jeopardize his health. The retirement speech was a genuine moment from a great competitor that has a true passion for the squared circle and many consider it one of the most emotional segments in WWE history. As sad as it is that Daniel Bryan had to exit the sport before he could truly have the main event run he was capable of on the global stage, the totality of his career provided proof that he's without question one of the greatest in ring performers of all time.
Long before Daniel Bryan was celebrating as confetti fell around him at the Super Dome in New Orleans at Wrestlemania 30, Bryan Danielson dreamed of wrestling stardom. From the quiet logging town of Aberdeen, WA, Bryan Danielson made the decision early in his youth that he wanted to pursue a career inside the ring ropes and after graduating high school, he relocated to Texas to train at Shawn Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy. Danielson trained at the school alongside other notable stars including Paul London, Lance Cade, Brian Kendrick, and others before making his debut in 1999. That same year, when HBK was booked for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling in Japan as a referee, some of his students were brought along and booked on the card. As "American Dragon," Bryan wore a mask for the Japanese tour and later adopted the name as part of his moniker. Another benefit of learning under Shawn Michaels was that at the age of just 19, Danielson was signed to a WWE developmental deal and sent to Memphis to continue to learn his craft. Memphis was one of the few territories the WWE worked with before their deal with OVW in the early 2000s and it was nowhere near as elaborate as the developmental system in place today. Still, Bryan considered his time in the territory a valuable learning experience, as he had the chance to learn from veterans like William Regal, who he credited during the speech on Raw. After a year under contract, Danielson was released, but this was in 2001 after the WWE roster was flooded with talent from WCW and ECW after both companies closed. Keep in mind, this was also a time frame when the WWE rarely used light heavyweight competitors.
After his released, Danielson went back to his hometown and began wrestling in the north west United States where he participated in one of the most influential tournaments in wrestling history. All Pro Wrestling, the small promotion that was profiled in Beyond The Mat, gathered the top talent in independent wrestling for a two day "King of the Indies" tournament that took place in California in 2001. The event featured several future stars including, AJ Styles, Brian Kendrick, Low Ki, Super Dragon, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, and others. Bryan won the tournament and after viewing the event, former ECW office worker, Gabe Sapolsky was one of the people that generated the concept for Ring Of Honor. It's safe to say that ROH wouldn't exist today without the King Of Indies influence and many wrestlers that worked the tournament played a pivotal role in the early years of the company. In fact, Danielson is considered one of the founding fathers of the promotion that started in the small Murphy Rec Center in Philadelphia in 2002 and he also worked in the main event of its inaugural show.
To detail Danielson's ROH career would be an entire column itself, but from the exposure the upstart league provided, "The American Dragon" wrestled across the country and around the globe for seven years before he inked a WWE deal in 2009. Danielson had some of the best matches in the history of Ring of Honor at a time when the group was considered the best in ring product in the world and when he wasn't working top notch matches there, he was competing international in NOAH in Japan or a variety of independent organizations in Europe. Another notable accomplishment was when he won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag titles with Christopher Daniels' Curry Man character for New Japan in 2004. A few of the many highlights of Bryan's independent career include a tremendous series of matches with Nigel McGuinness, as the two technical grapplers exchanged submission attempts and stiff strikes. Speaking of stiff strikes, Danielson's matches with Kenta and former GHC Heavyweight champion, Takeshi Morashima were among some of the most physical matches in ROH history. The Morashima series was particularly brutal as a clubbing forearm from the Japanese brute caused the American Dragon a serious eye injury. It was determined that surgery was required to repair his detached retina and fractured orbital bone, but he would still compete with an eye patch while it healed. Along with that, thrilling bouts with Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Homicide were all a memorable stage of his career. During Bryan's time there, ROH was primarily a north east promotion and would venture into the mid west for shows in Chicago, but hadn't expanded further at the point. However, Bryan's wrestling ventures took him literally coast-to-coast as he competed semi-regularly for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on the west coast since the promotion launched in 2003, even winning the PWG world championship during his final appearance there before he departed the independent scene to join the WWE in 2009. Aside from the PWG championship, Bryan also had an instrumental run as ROH world champion when he held the title for over a year and a half, which helped further elevate the prestigious of the belt and the promotion.
As mentioned, Danielson signed a WWE deal in 2009 and debuted for the promotion a few months later in 2010. Known as "Daniel Bryan," he was featured on the initial NXT season and received a good crowd reaction. Bryan was briefly released following the infamous "neck tie" incident, but was rehired soon after to continue his WWE run. The next two years could be considered "building blocks" so to speak for Bryan as he won the United States title and the World Heavyweight title, but those scenarios were usually secondary to the WWE title or Raw main events. As the Raw and Smackdown brands merged in 2013, Daniel Bryan was paired with Kane to form an unexpected tag team. The duo provided several entertaining segments and matches as tag champions. The angle itself proved that Bryan was a well rounded performer because he wasn't just a great in ring wrestler, but also an entertaining character. As time progress, Bryan surged in popularity before winning the WWE title at Summer Slam in 2013, only to drop the belt before the show went off the air when Randy Orton cashed in a title shot. As I said at the time, the WWE had a chance to have a PG version of Austin vs. McMahon with the Daniel Bryan/Authority storyline, but he was minimized after the Orton feud. Daniel Bryan wasn't the stereotypical WWE main event star and thus, WWE brass had already decided that even though he was one of the most popular stars on the roster, they weren't going to book him in the title picture.
On January 26, 2014, the WWE audience in attendance at the Royal Rumble at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh had a very direct message to WWE's writing team and the effect of the reaction to the event can still be seen today. After a great match with Bray Wyatt, Bryan returned backstage, but many fans assumed he would be back later in the show to compete for (and hopefully win) the Royal Rumble match. As number 30, Rey Mysterio, entered the Rumble, the fans started a mutiny as their pick for the Rumble hadn't even been given the chance to enter the match. A chorus of boos accompanied the rest of the show, which only intensified when Batista won it and was subjected to the heat that was more directed at management than him. In the weeks that followed, "Daniel Bryan" and "Yes!" chants would interrupt WWE programming as the fans continued to protest WWE's notion that he was a "B+ player." The bottom line is the fans don't want to be told who they should cheer or who they should want to see in the top spots so the response to the Batista/Orton feud remained hostile. Finally, not wanting to see the main event getting booed out of the building at Wrestlemania, the WWE booked Bryan in a storyline that saw him win the championship at Wrestlemania 30.
While the win at Wrestlemania 30 should have been the start of a major main event run for him, it was the peak and perhaps the beginning of the end of his career. Less than a month later, Daniel Bryan suffered a neck injury and was forced to relinquish the title. The following year, when fans again rallied behind Bryan to main event Wrestlemania, he was instead booked for an IC title ladder match and he won it. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion in a match with Sheamus a few weeks later and after nearly a year of waiting to be cleared to return to action, he retired.
Outside of the ring, Daniel Bryan met Connor "The Crusher" Michalek and helped provide memorable experiences for the 8-year-old that was battling brain cancer in 2014, including embracing him at ringside after he won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 30. Connor "The Crusher" tragically passed away, but his bravery touched everyone that heard his story and Connor's Cure was established to benefit cancer research. In 2015, Connor was immortalized alongside many of his pro wrestling heroes when he was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame with the Warrior Courage award, presented to his father Stephen by the later Ultimate Warrior's wife, Dana Warrior.
So, why did so many fans identify with Daniel Bryan? The audience could see an authenticity to him and they saw his passion for the sport. The WWE audience could identify with Daniel Bryan as a genuine competitor that gave 100% every time he stepped into the ring. As I mentioned in the column a few weeks ago, I actually met Daniel Bryan at the World of Wheels convention in Pittsburgh and he was really polite and he seemed happy to be there. Essentially, the WWE audience knew that Daniel Bryan appreciated them as much as they appreciated him. Despite being forced into retirement before he could have the main event run on the global stage, if you consider the entire body of work that he put together during the course of a 15 years in the business, Daniel Bryan had a legendary career.
Daniel Bryan is one of the great in ring wrestlers of all time.
Daniel Bryan is a hero.
Quite simply, Daniel Bryan is pro wrestling.
Friday, February 12, 2016
The career of Kevin Randleman
Sadly, the former UFC Heavyweight champion, Kevin Randleman passed away after pneumonia led to cardiac arrest in a San Diego hospital. At 44, Randleman is regarded by many as a pioneer in the sport, but the continuous theme throughout his career is, "what could've been?"
Randleman grew up in poverty in a rough neighborhood around Sandusky, Ohio, but found solace through athletics and excelled at multiple sports during his youth. He began his collegiate amateur wrestling career at Ohio State and racked up dozens of wins to enter the NCAA tournament his freshman year. Randleman made it to the tournament finals, but was defeated in 1992. However, the following two years, he won the NCAA tournament, putting him as one of the competitors with the highest winning percentage in Buckeyes wrestling history. Entering his senior year in 1995, many anticipated Randleman would have another banner season on the mat and potentially move toward the Olympics in 1996, but he was disqualified from competition when he didn't meet academic standards after he left his grades slip. If Randleman would have been prepared to compete for his final season, would the Olympics have been his path?
What could've been?
Still, an outstanding amateur career opened the door to combat sports for Randleman, as one of his previous coaches, Mark Coleman introduced him to mixed martial arts in 1996. For his debut in the sport, Randleman entered and won Brazil's Vale Tudo 4. Randleman continued to brawl in Brazil until he had the opportunity to compete for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1999, winning a unanimous decision against Maurice Smith. Just two months later, he lost a close split decision to the legendary Bas Rutten in a heavyweight title tournament final. The belt wouldn't elude Randleman for long though, as he defeated Pete Williams(after Rutten vacated the title to fight at middle weight) to win it in November of 1999. Despite being the champion, Randleman was relatively new to the sport and defeated Pedro Rizzo before losing bouts to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddel. He finished his UFC run with a unanimous decision win in a bout with Renato Sobral, bring his UFC record to 4-3 and improving his overall record to 10-5 before he began fighting elsewhere.
Eventually, Kevin Randleman began fighting in Pride, where he built the foundation of much of his legacy, as his vicious slams and ground strikes earned him the moniker "The Monster" in Japan. After his Pride debut in 2002, Randleman fought top competition in the Japanese league and won most of the bouts over the next two years. In perhaps the pinnacle of his career, Randleman knocked out the legendary Mirko Crocop in the first round at Total Elimination 2004, despite being consider a major underdog prior to the bout. The KO of Crocop is still a highlight reel moment in MMA history and Randleman would provide another in his next fight against Fedor Emelianenko when he slammed the legendary Russian fighter on his head in a moment that is still talked about today. Somehow, Fedor endured being dropped on his head and submitted Randleman, but "The Monster" had solidified his place in MMA history.
As mentioned, the Crocop KO was probably the peak of Randleman's career and he sustained several injuries over the next few years, including a serious staph infection that required surgery in 2006. When he finally returned to the ring for Pride's first American show later that year, Shogun Rua submitted him in the first round of the contest and following the fight, Kevin Randleman was suspended for a year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for submitting a fake urine sample in the post-fight test. The next year didn't improve things for "The Monster" either when he was hospitalized with serious kidney damage and then several months later, he was arrested for DUI in Las Vegas. In 2008, Randleman won a fight on a smaller card in Japan before he went on a four fight losing streak and decided to retire in 2011. It seems as though the accumulating injuries and health problems had a major effect on the path of Randleman's career so it's interesting to consider the possibilities if he was healthy.
Most don't know that Kevin Randleman actually had a somewhat notable pro wrestling career in Japan between his fights in Pride. The charismatic grappler made appearances in All Japan, Zero-1 and the now defuct Hustle promotion. While all of this took place before the WWE performance center existed, Randleman certainly seems like the type of athlete the WWE would recruit if the program was in place during his prime.
What could've been?
Ultimately, it's a sad conclusion to a legendary career and an MMA pioneer that passed away far too earlier. Injuries and health problems seems to continuously derail "The Monster" when he was gaining momentum in the sport, but as mentioned, the highlight reel moments solidified his status in the sport.
Sincere condolences to Kevin Randleman's friends and family at this difficult time.
Randleman grew up in poverty in a rough neighborhood around Sandusky, Ohio, but found solace through athletics and excelled at multiple sports during his youth. He began his collegiate amateur wrestling career at Ohio State and racked up dozens of wins to enter the NCAA tournament his freshman year. Randleman made it to the tournament finals, but was defeated in 1992. However, the following two years, he won the NCAA tournament, putting him as one of the competitors with the highest winning percentage in Buckeyes wrestling history. Entering his senior year in 1995, many anticipated Randleman would have another banner season on the mat and potentially move toward the Olympics in 1996, but he was disqualified from competition when he didn't meet academic standards after he left his grades slip. If Randleman would have been prepared to compete for his final season, would the Olympics have been his path?
What could've been?
Still, an outstanding amateur career opened the door to combat sports for Randleman, as one of his previous coaches, Mark Coleman introduced him to mixed martial arts in 1996. For his debut in the sport, Randleman entered and won Brazil's Vale Tudo 4. Randleman continued to brawl in Brazil until he had the opportunity to compete for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1999, winning a unanimous decision against Maurice Smith. Just two months later, he lost a close split decision to the legendary Bas Rutten in a heavyweight title tournament final. The belt wouldn't elude Randleman for long though, as he defeated Pete Williams(after Rutten vacated the title to fight at middle weight) to win it in November of 1999. Despite being the champion, Randleman was relatively new to the sport and defeated Pedro Rizzo before losing bouts to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddel. He finished his UFC run with a unanimous decision win in a bout with Renato Sobral, bring his UFC record to 4-3 and improving his overall record to 10-5 before he began fighting elsewhere.
Eventually, Kevin Randleman began fighting in Pride, where he built the foundation of much of his legacy, as his vicious slams and ground strikes earned him the moniker "The Monster" in Japan. After his Pride debut in 2002, Randleman fought top competition in the Japanese league and won most of the bouts over the next two years. In perhaps the pinnacle of his career, Randleman knocked out the legendary Mirko Crocop in the first round at Total Elimination 2004, despite being consider a major underdog prior to the bout. The KO of Crocop is still a highlight reel moment in MMA history and Randleman would provide another in his next fight against Fedor Emelianenko when he slammed the legendary Russian fighter on his head in a moment that is still talked about today. Somehow, Fedor endured being dropped on his head and submitted Randleman, but "The Monster" had solidified his place in MMA history.
As mentioned, the Crocop KO was probably the peak of Randleman's career and he sustained several injuries over the next few years, including a serious staph infection that required surgery in 2006. When he finally returned to the ring for Pride's first American show later that year, Shogun Rua submitted him in the first round of the contest and following the fight, Kevin Randleman was suspended for a year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for submitting a fake urine sample in the post-fight test. The next year didn't improve things for "The Monster" either when he was hospitalized with serious kidney damage and then several months later, he was arrested for DUI in Las Vegas. In 2008, Randleman won a fight on a smaller card in Japan before he went on a four fight losing streak and decided to retire in 2011. It seems as though the accumulating injuries and health problems had a major effect on the path of Randleman's career so it's interesting to consider the possibilities if he was healthy.
Most don't know that Kevin Randleman actually had a somewhat notable pro wrestling career in Japan between his fights in Pride. The charismatic grappler made appearances in All Japan, Zero-1 and the now defuct Hustle promotion. While all of this took place before the WWE performance center existed, Randleman certainly seems like the type of athlete the WWE would recruit if the program was in place during his prime.
What could've been?
Ultimately, it's a sad conclusion to a legendary career and an MMA pioneer that passed away far too earlier. Injuries and health problems seems to continuously derail "The Monster" when he was gaining momentum in the sport, but as mentioned, the highlight reel moments solidified his status in the sport.
Sincere condolences to Kevin Randleman's friends and family at this difficult time.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
CZW Ultraviolent History
In 1998, John Zandig, who made a name for himself as "The Icon" on the independent scene in years prior, opened a small wrestling school with the hopes of using the training center as a place to sharpen his skills. While The Icon was a spin off of the Ultimate Warrior character, Zandig looked to redefine himself and as he began training students at the school, the prospect of a new company was formed. In early 1999, Combat Zone Wrestling held it's inaugural event and in the months that followed, the new group began to generate an underground following for its willingness to push the envelope with matches that often featured chairs, fire, and barbed wire. Along with Zandig, scarred brawlers like Lobo, Nick Mondo, Nick Gage, and others spilled blood and risked serious injury to cultivate a cult following for CZW in its early years. Mostly seen in Japan, the league brought the death match style, which often features light tubes and other dangerous objects to the United States independent circuit, essentially pioneering the ultraviolent genre that became extremely popular in the years that followed.
This Saturday at the Flyer Skate Zone in New Jersey, CZW will present "Seventeen" as a way to celebrate and commemorate the history of one of the top independent promotions in the United States. However, reaching this destination of 17 years of innovate and ultraviolet wrestling was not always an easy path. For the first decade of its existence, Zandig ran the organization through the ups and downs. From record crowds to building shut downs and from stacked events to behind the scenes disputes, the veteran of numerous hardcore battles kept the Combat Zone moving forward.
Finally in 2009, when the pressure of an economic recession affected revenue and personal burn out from running the promotion full time, John Zandig knew his time as the boss of CZW was coming to a close. There was much speculation as to the future of the promotion and few knew what was next. In August, it was announced that CZW competitor, DJ Hyde had purchased the company from Zandig and was the new owner with plans to continue to evolve the product. At the time, DJ was a six year pro of the industry and he was new to the ownership role, but a master's degree in business allowed him to feel prepared for the challenge ahead of him.
"There's always the financial worries like this could happen or that could happen, but there wasn't anything to stop me, I was pretty gung-ho about it. The business is changing for about the past five years now. Branding is the biggest challenge now. You can't exactly have a consist roster, even our most loyal guys, you can see within an hour on a different day so it's a challenge to brand them as our guys. The other biggest one is financial and with the internet and having easy access to things, and finding a way to get around things. It really does hurt the companies, the ones that do it on a short budget, the avenues to make money are getting smaller. You can find people that upload our shows on Youtube," DJ Hyde said.
One of the hurdles that DJ knew he had to clear during his tenure in the CZW office was the perception that the Combat Zone was strictly a blood and guts type of group. During much of the previous regime, dangerous stunts for the sake of shock value, such as John Zandig hanging from meat hooks, took priority over technical wrestling or storylines. As part of his initiative to diversify the product, well rounded stars like Adam Cole, Lio Rush, Mike Bailey, and others were prominently featured on DJ Hyde's cards. The ultraviolent aspect wasn't forgotten though as the Tournament of Death and Cage Of Death both remain staples of the CZW calendar, and allow the "hybrid" style to provide performances within the death match environment. Another important key of freshening up the events was a working agreement with Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Germany's WXW in recent years, which allowed for a talent exchange among all three groups. Scarred Japanese grapplers like Jun Kasai, Ruyji Ito, and Jaki Numazawa all made notable appearances in the Combat Zone. Along with CZW stars traveling to Japan, they also competed in Europe for co-promoted shows with WXW.
"You gotta be different, you gotta give fans something they don't see. Everyone is trying to get money and exposure. My concepts are a lot different than a lot of other people. I have a vision of what I believe wrestling should be. My concept when I took over, I wanted to be what I call the buffet table of professional wrestling to give people a variety. If you look at the shows as a whole, there's something for everyone," DJ said.
As time went on, the international exposure was generating a renewed buzz for the company and to capitalize on the addition of internet pay-per-view shows in 2011, which allowed fans around the globe to watch the action live from CZW's home base at the Flyer Skate Zone in New Jersey. While the historic "Seventeen" event will be streaming live online this Saturday, if you can attend the event, you should be there as one of the most valuable performers in the history of the organization is honored. Before Drake Weurtz put on the stripes to officiate thrilling NXT bouts, Drake Younger was one of the sport's most traveled workers and was known for his ability to wrestle any style. A former CZW heavyweight champion, Drake held the title for over a year and a half. Outside of the ring, Weurtz transformed himself into a leaner, more focused athlete and his positivity remains an inspiration to many that know him. To acknowledge his ultraviolent accomplishments, Drake will be inducted into the CZW Hall of Fame, an exclusive presentation for those in the building and will not to a part of the IPPV broadcast.
"We are the one company out of the major independent companies that do IPPV that haven't had any problems and we never had a delay in the middle of the shows. We work with Highspots, but my team actually does it. We test it and we make sure it works and then we are going to do it. We make sure we know what we're doing before we put the product out there," said Hyde.
Drake Younger is making a one-time return this Saturday, but other mainstays of the north east group recently returned and are looking to reassert themselves in the promotion. Sami Callihan, who made a name for himself in CZW before his two year stint as Solomon Crowe, returned home in December and is scheduled to battle Canadian stand out, Mike Bailey in an anticipated contest. Masada, a nearly 15 year veteran of the industry and one of CZW's most popular stars, recently returned as well. After wrestling extensively in Japan throughout his career, Masada is known for his versatile style and is booked to wrestle AR Fox in a rematch from a bout that received rave reviews in 2012. The main event will feature "The Bulldozer" Matt Tremont vs. Devon Moore in a ladder match for the CZW world championship.
The CZW owner spoke very highly of his roster saying, "In ring and behind the scene, Sami back here is truly great. Sami and I have a very unique relationship, he's like my little brother. Masada, as a competitor, is believable and a lot of people don't know he can actually wrestle since he's done all the death match stuff. As a person, you want him on you're team, if there's a bar fight or a whatever, he'll say let's go," Hyde continued.
DJ had even more praise for his champion, Matt Tremont saying, "Matt Tremont is the heart and soul of CZW, he would do anything for this company and do more than anyone, even me."
This Saturday at the Flyers Skate Zone in New Jersey, Combat Zone Wrestling will present its 17th anniversary event. From high flying aerial displays to blood baths, CZW has found its way to become one of the most well known independent companies in the world. After over a decade and a half of peaks and valleys, there's much to reflect on when examining the history of the Combat Zone, but there's always a focus of the future.
"There are two things that we need to get done in 2016. The number priority is getting TV again and we are working on a deal right now with some people. If you look at the top companies out there, they all have TV and that's where we want to be. The second priority, not as important as TV, but still a priority is getting our own building, the CZW arena. That way we don't have to worry about working with other people and we can do our own thing," Hyde said.
For more information on the event, you can go to czwrestling.com
This Saturday at the Flyer Skate Zone in New Jersey, CZW will present "Seventeen" as a way to celebrate and commemorate the history of one of the top independent promotions in the United States. However, reaching this destination of 17 years of innovate and ultraviolet wrestling was not always an easy path. For the first decade of its existence, Zandig ran the organization through the ups and downs. From record crowds to building shut downs and from stacked events to behind the scenes disputes, the veteran of numerous hardcore battles kept the Combat Zone moving forward.
Finally in 2009, when the pressure of an economic recession affected revenue and personal burn out from running the promotion full time, John Zandig knew his time as the boss of CZW was coming to a close. There was much speculation as to the future of the promotion and few knew what was next. In August, it was announced that CZW competitor, DJ Hyde had purchased the company from Zandig and was the new owner with plans to continue to evolve the product. At the time, DJ was a six year pro of the industry and he was new to the ownership role, but a master's degree in business allowed him to feel prepared for the challenge ahead of him.
"There's always the financial worries like this could happen or that could happen, but there wasn't anything to stop me, I was pretty gung-ho about it. The business is changing for about the past five years now. Branding is the biggest challenge now. You can't exactly have a consist roster, even our most loyal guys, you can see within an hour on a different day so it's a challenge to brand them as our guys. The other biggest one is financial and with the internet and having easy access to things, and finding a way to get around things. It really does hurt the companies, the ones that do it on a short budget, the avenues to make money are getting smaller. You can find people that upload our shows on Youtube," DJ Hyde said.
One of the hurdles that DJ knew he had to clear during his tenure in the CZW office was the perception that the Combat Zone was strictly a blood and guts type of group. During much of the previous regime, dangerous stunts for the sake of shock value, such as John Zandig hanging from meat hooks, took priority over technical wrestling or storylines. As part of his initiative to diversify the product, well rounded stars like Adam Cole, Lio Rush, Mike Bailey, and others were prominently featured on DJ Hyde's cards. The ultraviolent aspect wasn't forgotten though as the Tournament of Death and Cage Of Death both remain staples of the CZW calendar, and allow the "hybrid" style to provide performances within the death match environment. Another important key of freshening up the events was a working agreement with Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Germany's WXW in recent years, which allowed for a talent exchange among all three groups. Scarred Japanese grapplers like Jun Kasai, Ruyji Ito, and Jaki Numazawa all made notable appearances in the Combat Zone. Along with CZW stars traveling to Japan, they also competed in Europe for co-promoted shows with WXW.
"You gotta be different, you gotta give fans something they don't see. Everyone is trying to get money and exposure. My concepts are a lot different than a lot of other people. I have a vision of what I believe wrestling should be. My concept when I took over, I wanted to be what I call the buffet table of professional wrestling to give people a variety. If you look at the shows as a whole, there's something for everyone," DJ said.
As time went on, the international exposure was generating a renewed buzz for the company and to capitalize on the addition of internet pay-per-view shows in 2011, which allowed fans around the globe to watch the action live from CZW's home base at the Flyer Skate Zone in New Jersey. While the historic "Seventeen" event will be streaming live online this Saturday, if you can attend the event, you should be there as one of the most valuable performers in the history of the organization is honored. Before Drake Weurtz put on the stripes to officiate thrilling NXT bouts, Drake Younger was one of the sport's most traveled workers and was known for his ability to wrestle any style. A former CZW heavyweight champion, Drake held the title for over a year and a half. Outside of the ring, Weurtz transformed himself into a leaner, more focused athlete and his positivity remains an inspiration to many that know him. To acknowledge his ultraviolent accomplishments, Drake will be inducted into the CZW Hall of Fame, an exclusive presentation for those in the building and will not to a part of the IPPV broadcast.
"We are the one company out of the major independent companies that do IPPV that haven't had any problems and we never had a delay in the middle of the shows. We work with Highspots, but my team actually does it. We test it and we make sure it works and then we are going to do it. We make sure we know what we're doing before we put the product out there," said Hyde.
Drake Younger is making a one-time return this Saturday, but other mainstays of the north east group recently returned and are looking to reassert themselves in the promotion. Sami Callihan, who made a name for himself in CZW before his two year stint as Solomon Crowe, returned home in December and is scheduled to battle Canadian stand out, Mike Bailey in an anticipated contest. Masada, a nearly 15 year veteran of the industry and one of CZW's most popular stars, recently returned as well. After wrestling extensively in Japan throughout his career, Masada is known for his versatile style and is booked to wrestle AR Fox in a rematch from a bout that received rave reviews in 2012. The main event will feature "The Bulldozer" Matt Tremont vs. Devon Moore in a ladder match for the CZW world championship.
The CZW owner spoke very highly of his roster saying, "In ring and behind the scene, Sami back here is truly great. Sami and I have a very unique relationship, he's like my little brother. Masada, as a competitor, is believable and a lot of people don't know he can actually wrestle since he's done all the death match stuff. As a person, you want him on you're team, if there's a bar fight or a whatever, he'll say let's go," Hyde continued.
DJ had even more praise for his champion, Matt Tremont saying, "Matt Tremont is the heart and soul of CZW, he would do anything for this company and do more than anyone, even me."
This Saturday at the Flyers Skate Zone in New Jersey, Combat Zone Wrestling will present its 17th anniversary event. From high flying aerial displays to blood baths, CZW has found its way to become one of the most well known independent companies in the world. After over a decade and a half of peaks and valleys, there's much to reflect on when examining the history of the Combat Zone, but there's always a focus of the future.
"There are two things that we need to get done in 2016. The number priority is getting TV again and we are working on a deal right now with some people. If you look at the top companies out there, they all have TV and that's where we want to be. The second priority, not as important as TV, but still a priority is getting our own building, the CZW arena. That way we don't have to worry about working with other people and we can do our own thing," Hyde said.
For more information on the event, you can go to czwrestling.com
Monday, February 8, 2016
ECW original passed away
Brian Knighton, known to wrestling fans as Axl Rotten, was found dead
last Thursday in Baltimore and as of this writing, the cause of death
isn't confirmed. At 44, Knighton passed far too young and it's a sad
ending to perhaps an even sadder series of events during the past few
years for the competitor with the trademark "KISS" tattoo to accompany
the road map of scars on his arm. He suffered a spinal injury that
required surgery and he spent recent years confined to a wheel chair
trying to regain the ability to walk at a rehab center in Maryland. Axl
shared his story on the "Talk is Jericho" podcast last year, which
prompted a donation from Chris Jericho, as well as many fans to help pay
for his medical expenses.
Long before he was battling with barbed wire, Brain Knighton began wrestling at the age of just 17 and a few years later, he was working for the short lived Global Wrestling Federation on ESPN in 1991. Around that same time, Axl began a brief stint in WCW as well, gaining notoriety for the effort he brought to the ring. As Axl was making a name for himself, he trained his "brother" Ian Rotten and the duo formed the "Bad Breed" tag team in Global.
After Global folded, the ESPN and WCW exposure served Axl well as it gave Bad Breed the opportunity to start with Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993. The team appear regularly for the now Extreme promotion until a stroyline was booked to set up matches between them in 1994. The start of 1995 was a pivotal year for both the career of Axl Rotten and the ECW company. If you look back at the history of the south Philadelphia organization, the "era of extreme" was ushered in during the bloody Axl vs. Ian feud, which won an award from PWI that year and the series of matches is one of the main elements that garnered ECW exposure, and in the process brought a spotlight to many of the other revolutionary characters featured at events. The wild matches between the Rotten brothers often used barbed wire bats, chairs, etc. in an attempt to push the envelope, and in many respects, created a blue print for some of the "ultraviolent" wrestling seen today. Granted, the gory bouts were one dimensional, but the feud helped bring more viewers to the product that would notice the depth of the characters such as Raven after witnessing the crimson display a few matches earlier in the show. The culmination of the angle was a Taipei deathmatch, which consisted of both grapplers gluing glass to their fists and the graphic contest is still talked about among fans.
In many ways, the Taipei match was the peak of Axl's career, as he continued working in ECW for another four years, but wasn't pushed further up than the mid card, despite some charisma and under rated mic skills. Rotten often cited Dusty Rhodes as an influence in his career and he would take some of the American Dream inspired fire and put an extreme spin on it for ECW promos. When I was reading news of Axl's passing, PWinsider's Mike Johnson, who does a great job reporting on the business and talked with Axl for several years, summarized it accurately when he said that Axl Rotten was his own worst enemy during most of his career.
While wrestling in ECW, Axl had a very serious drug problem and it would cost him chances throughout his career. After glass was glued to his fists to pumbel his storyline brother, Knighton became some what type cast in the hardcore role and was mainly booked for more bloody brawls during the remainder of his time in the promotion. Axl said in the Jericho interview that he would've rather wrestled tradition matches, but all things considered, he didn't exactly have the well rounded skills to become a main star in WCW or the WWE so hardcore wrestling was probably his best chance to build a career. After a six year run in ECW, Axl was basically "released" in 1999 when his drug use was considered to effect his in ring work. ECW was known for its party atmosphere so for Axl to be fired for substances, its an indication as to how serious his substances problems were at the time. Rotten traveled the independent scene for a period of time, including some appearances for XPW in 2000 and some of the ECW reunion shows, but he didn't garner the buzz he had previously. In 2006, Axl Rotten was actually offered a WWE deal, but he admitted during the podcast appearance that the drug problem prevented him from signing the deal. Axl claimed he could work a traditional style and he had the chance to prove it, but he wasted the opportunity.
In the Talk is Jericho interview, Axl detailed the extent of his serious drug use and a pill addiction. Obviously, Axl did himself no favors and he has nobody to blame but himself for his addiction problems. While many terrible people have a drug problem, that doesn't mean that every person with a drug problem is a terrible person. Sadly, Axl seems to be in the category of someone that was actually a polite person that struggled with a problem. Perhaps, that's what makes this story such a tragic event, Rotten was a polite performer that had a passion for pro wrestling and sustained many injuries to garner a spot in the sport.
I talked to Pittsburgh independent wrestling manager, BC Steele and he described Axl saying, "I'd met Axl a handful of times and he was always personable. He talked to everyone and cared not only about his stuff, but was willing to give input to others as well. I didn't know him personally, but being able to work with him, I could tell he had a passion for the wrestling business that not everyone has."
Several others, national stars and local hopefuls that worked with Axl during various stages of his career, posted on social media as to his passion for the business as well as the advice he offered them. At this point, an accidental drug overdose is suspected as the possible cause of death and if that's the case, it's a tragic conclusion. It's possible that Axl's personal demons were a battle that he couldn't win, but hopefully, he can be remembered as the wild brawler in the ring and the polite competitor with a passion for the industry outside of it.
Sincere condolences to Axl's family at this difficult time.
Long before he was battling with barbed wire, Brain Knighton began wrestling at the age of just 17 and a few years later, he was working for the short lived Global Wrestling Federation on ESPN in 1991. Around that same time, Axl began a brief stint in WCW as well, gaining notoriety for the effort he brought to the ring. As Axl was making a name for himself, he trained his "brother" Ian Rotten and the duo formed the "Bad Breed" tag team in Global.
After Global folded, the ESPN and WCW exposure served Axl well as it gave Bad Breed the opportunity to start with Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993. The team appear regularly for the now Extreme promotion until a stroyline was booked to set up matches between them in 1994. The start of 1995 was a pivotal year for both the career of Axl Rotten and the ECW company. If you look back at the history of the south Philadelphia organization, the "era of extreme" was ushered in during the bloody Axl vs. Ian feud, which won an award from PWI that year and the series of matches is one of the main elements that garnered ECW exposure, and in the process brought a spotlight to many of the other revolutionary characters featured at events. The wild matches between the Rotten brothers often used barbed wire bats, chairs, etc. in an attempt to push the envelope, and in many respects, created a blue print for some of the "ultraviolent" wrestling seen today. Granted, the gory bouts were one dimensional, but the feud helped bring more viewers to the product that would notice the depth of the characters such as Raven after witnessing the crimson display a few matches earlier in the show. The culmination of the angle was a Taipei deathmatch, which consisted of both grapplers gluing glass to their fists and the graphic contest is still talked about among fans.
In many ways, the Taipei match was the peak of Axl's career, as he continued working in ECW for another four years, but wasn't pushed further up than the mid card, despite some charisma and under rated mic skills. Rotten often cited Dusty Rhodes as an influence in his career and he would take some of the American Dream inspired fire and put an extreme spin on it for ECW promos. When I was reading news of Axl's passing, PWinsider's Mike Johnson, who does a great job reporting on the business and talked with Axl for several years, summarized it accurately when he said that Axl Rotten was his own worst enemy during most of his career.
While wrestling in ECW, Axl had a very serious drug problem and it would cost him chances throughout his career. After glass was glued to his fists to pumbel his storyline brother, Knighton became some what type cast in the hardcore role and was mainly booked for more bloody brawls during the remainder of his time in the promotion. Axl said in the Jericho interview that he would've rather wrestled tradition matches, but all things considered, he didn't exactly have the well rounded skills to become a main star in WCW or the WWE so hardcore wrestling was probably his best chance to build a career. After a six year run in ECW, Axl was basically "released" in 1999 when his drug use was considered to effect his in ring work. ECW was known for its party atmosphere so for Axl to be fired for substances, its an indication as to how serious his substances problems were at the time. Rotten traveled the independent scene for a period of time, including some appearances for XPW in 2000 and some of the ECW reunion shows, but he didn't garner the buzz he had previously. In 2006, Axl Rotten was actually offered a WWE deal, but he admitted during the podcast appearance that the drug problem prevented him from signing the deal. Axl claimed he could work a traditional style and he had the chance to prove it, but he wasted the opportunity.
In the Talk is Jericho interview, Axl detailed the extent of his serious drug use and a pill addiction. Obviously, Axl did himself no favors and he has nobody to blame but himself for his addiction problems. While many terrible people have a drug problem, that doesn't mean that every person with a drug problem is a terrible person. Sadly, Axl seems to be in the category of someone that was actually a polite person that struggled with a problem. Perhaps, that's what makes this story such a tragic event, Rotten was a polite performer that had a passion for pro wrestling and sustained many injuries to garner a spot in the sport.
I talked to Pittsburgh independent wrestling manager, BC Steele and he described Axl saying, "I'd met Axl a handful of times and he was always personable. He talked to everyone and cared not only about his stuff, but was willing to give input to others as well. I didn't know him personally, but being able to work with him, I could tell he had a passion for the wrestling business that not everyone has."
Several others, national stars and local hopefuls that worked with Axl during various stages of his career, posted on social media as to his passion for the business as well as the advice he offered them. At this point, an accidental drug overdose is suspected as the possible cause of death and if that's the case, it's a tragic conclusion. It's possible that Axl's personal demons were a battle that he couldn't win, but hopefully, he can be remembered as the wild brawler in the ring and the polite competitor with a passion for the industry outside of it.
Sincere condolences to Axl's family at this difficult time.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Sytch signed for film
After much speculation and rumors for the past few years, Tamara
Sytch, known as the "original diva," has officially signed with Vivid
Entertainment to shoot an adult film. While this might seem "news
worthy" to some media outlets, it's not all that surprising since Sytch
has dabbled in this line of work before, most recently offering Skype
sessions with fans and exposing herself for certain amounts of money.
There was also the infamous "Wrestling Vixxxens" video from 2001 where
she did nude modeling so this isn't something completely out of
character. As much criticism as it might draw, you can bet it will sell
and Vivid will make money on the deal, if only for the novelty of the
project.
First of all, it should be noted that nobody should be judged from a moral prospective for their line of work and this announcement will surely bring criticism towards Sunny, but everyone has bills to pay and those criticizing her aren't going to pay Sytch's rent. That being said, the adult industry has well documented pitfalls, even somewhat similar to the wrestling business, but that seems to be a common theme in the entertainment business in general. Obviously, her previous substance problems and her criminal record are an indication that Sytch probably shouldn't work within the entertainment business again, as her time in wrestling led to a rather sad downfall in recent years and maybe she could avoid some of those hazards if she avoided the spotlight. A prime example of some of the negative aspects of adult film is former WWE women's champion, Chyna, who was very vocal about the dark side of the adult industry. There also seem to be some similarities between Sunny and Chyna in terms of their fall from grace after the spotlight faded, so the question is more so, is this another desperate attempt for Sunny to stay relevant?
Two decades ago, at the age of just 23, Sunny was named AOL's "most downloaded woman of the year" in 1996 and she was one of the featured stars on WWF programming. Her success came relatively quickly as she had only started in the wrestling business three years earlier working alongside Chris Candido for Smokey Mountain Wrestling. In all fairness to Sunny, she could actually work ringside extremely well as a valet during her prime and she understood the role of a manager. Too often, valets assume the role of a manager is to stand at ringside and choke the baby face, while essentially being an extra ring post for 99% of the match, but Sunny knew how to work angles. During her initial run in the WWF, she was popular, but her time was relatively brief as she managed the Body Donnas in early 1995 and worked a variety of roles within the company before being released in 1998 after rumors of a drug problem. Behind the scenes during her time in the WWF, she had an extensive affair with Shawn Michaels even though she was together with Chris Candido at the time. Just a few years ago during a "Youshoot" interview with Kayfabe Commentaries, Sytch revealed that the infidelities extended further than just Shawn Michaels, as she claimed she was linked to the late "British Bulldog," Davey Boy Smith.
While it's unfair to judge anyone that's doing work that's legal to pay their bills, Sytch's character as a person could be called into question here on a number of levels. I actually had the opportunity to meet Chris Candido a few times the year before he passed away and he was extremely polite so I would suggest that he deserved better than Sunny's dishonesty. It's also one of the tragedies of the wrestling business that Candido died from such a fluke as a broken leg that caused a blood clot, especially after he completely cleaned up his act and overcame a pain killer addiction to get his career back on track. He was also an extremely underrated talent and all things consider, he is an example of a success story because he overcame the substance problems before he passed far too young. There was also the subject of Stych revealing an affair with Davey Boy Smith more than a decade after he passed away and seemingly gloating about it during the interview. Obviously, Davey isn't here to defend himself or give his side of the story and it's somewhat classless to mention such a situation publicly, considering that it could cause harm to his family. What exactly did Sytch accomplish from revealing anything? She got a few internet headlines and caused emotional distress for the Smith family, which promoted Davey's daughter to speak out against her.
After being released from the WWF in July of 1998, Sytch made an almost immediate jump to ECW, where he had being appearing occasionally anyway prior to the WWF departure. Sunny and Candido had a rather sporadic run in ECW as rumors of the pair's drug use led to a hiatus from television in late 1998. When they resurfaced in the south Philadelphia based promotion, there was still much speculation about drug problems and Candido actually addressed the situation on the mic prior to a match with Taz in 1999. There was also the infamous ECW on TNN episode that featured Sytch talking about many of the rumored problems and many saw it as an attempt to exploit her. The duo made their way to WCW in 2000, but their run would last only a few months at the Turner company and they were released.
In the early 2000s, Sytch and Candido worked the independent scene and a six month stint in Puerto Rico, but most assumed their time as top performers were over. It turned out to only be the case for one of them. A healthy and clean Chris Candido reemerged in 2004 after taking most of the previous year off to get sober to refocus on his career. Candido's work on the independent circuit impressed and he was offered a deal with TNA in 2005. At just 34 years old, the nearly twenty year veteran had rejuvenated his career and it seems as though he was going to get a second run on the national stage. Sadly, Chris Candido died after a broken ankle suffered at a pay-per-view caused a blood clot a few days after he had surgery to repair it. As a shining example of his dedication and passion for the wrestling business, Candido's final wrestling appearance was when he managed The Naturals to win the tag titles from a wheel chair at ringside.
After Candido's passing, Tammy Sytch began making news for all the wrong reasons. A few return appearances to the WWE over the years led to her induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, which provided her with an opportunity to gracefully bow out of the spotlight and conclude her career as the "original diva" instead of another precautionary tale of the pitfalls of the wrestling business. However, Sytch was arrested an astounding five times the following year due to domestic incidents, most of which occurred within a short period of time. During the legal circus, Sytch went to WWE sponsored rehab on a few different occasions, but she continued the substance problems. After the rehab, Sunny did a "Breaking Kayfabe" interview, a series designed to look at an individual's life outside of the wrestling business, and she actually criticized WWE's efforts to help her get clean, suggesting that the facilities weren't as lavish during her repeated sponsored visits. So, the WWE paid to help her get healthy after her own destructive choices and she's still going to criticize them? She made terrible choices on her own and she has nobody to blame but herself. During the interview, Sytch also claimed that she was going to clean up her act, but shortly after the interview was filmed she was arrested for a sixth time in early 2013 for another domestic incident.
Sunny made headlines again in 2014 when she began offering the previously mentioned Skype sessions with fans willing to pay specific amount of money and again while you can't blame someone for working to pay their bills, it's certainly somewhat trashy that she had to resort to exposing herself online after a twenty year career. Last year was more of the same for Sytch, as she was arrested three times for DUI in the span of a few months and she failed to appear for a hearing on the charges, which prompted her to be arrested again in September for the previous charges. Just a few weeks ago, she pled guilty to the charges and is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of this month. There's no excuse for driving intoxicated and Sytch put other people at risk doing so, which could be another statement about her character as a person.
Maybe the legal woes are what prompted Tammy Sytch to sign on for an adult film, but can anyone see this situation going well? After nearly a dozen arrests, numerous stints in rehab, and a history of generally terrible decision making, is the adult industry really going to lead to any success for Tammy Sytch? It would seem that Sunny still enjoys the spotlight, as she gleefully told TMZ about the potential Vivid deal, but the attempts at publicity are pathetic. Let's be clear here, this isn't an attempt to smear Sunny because she's done enough to tarnish her own reputation herself, but to point out that this new venture seems more like a desperate attempt to get in the spotlight again than anything else. The bottom line is, Sunny the "original diva" had a notable career, but Tamara Sytch the person tarnished much of that legacy through a series of her own destructive decisions.
Will there be some viewers for Sytch's new film venture? Yes, but even a train wreck draws a few spectators.
First of all, it should be noted that nobody should be judged from a moral prospective for their line of work and this announcement will surely bring criticism towards Sunny, but everyone has bills to pay and those criticizing her aren't going to pay Sytch's rent. That being said, the adult industry has well documented pitfalls, even somewhat similar to the wrestling business, but that seems to be a common theme in the entertainment business in general. Obviously, her previous substance problems and her criminal record are an indication that Sytch probably shouldn't work within the entertainment business again, as her time in wrestling led to a rather sad downfall in recent years and maybe she could avoid some of those hazards if she avoided the spotlight. A prime example of some of the negative aspects of adult film is former WWE women's champion, Chyna, who was very vocal about the dark side of the adult industry. There also seem to be some similarities between Sunny and Chyna in terms of their fall from grace after the spotlight faded, so the question is more so, is this another desperate attempt for Sunny to stay relevant?
Two decades ago, at the age of just 23, Sunny was named AOL's "most downloaded woman of the year" in 1996 and she was one of the featured stars on WWF programming. Her success came relatively quickly as she had only started in the wrestling business three years earlier working alongside Chris Candido for Smokey Mountain Wrestling. In all fairness to Sunny, she could actually work ringside extremely well as a valet during her prime and she understood the role of a manager. Too often, valets assume the role of a manager is to stand at ringside and choke the baby face, while essentially being an extra ring post for 99% of the match, but Sunny knew how to work angles. During her initial run in the WWF, she was popular, but her time was relatively brief as she managed the Body Donnas in early 1995 and worked a variety of roles within the company before being released in 1998 after rumors of a drug problem. Behind the scenes during her time in the WWF, she had an extensive affair with Shawn Michaels even though she was together with Chris Candido at the time. Just a few years ago during a "Youshoot" interview with Kayfabe Commentaries, Sytch revealed that the infidelities extended further than just Shawn Michaels, as she claimed she was linked to the late "British Bulldog," Davey Boy Smith.
While it's unfair to judge anyone that's doing work that's legal to pay their bills, Sytch's character as a person could be called into question here on a number of levels. I actually had the opportunity to meet Chris Candido a few times the year before he passed away and he was extremely polite so I would suggest that he deserved better than Sunny's dishonesty. It's also one of the tragedies of the wrestling business that Candido died from such a fluke as a broken leg that caused a blood clot, especially after he completely cleaned up his act and overcame a pain killer addiction to get his career back on track. He was also an extremely underrated talent and all things consider, he is an example of a success story because he overcame the substance problems before he passed far too young. There was also the subject of Stych revealing an affair with Davey Boy Smith more than a decade after he passed away and seemingly gloating about it during the interview. Obviously, Davey isn't here to defend himself or give his side of the story and it's somewhat classless to mention such a situation publicly, considering that it could cause harm to his family. What exactly did Sytch accomplish from revealing anything? She got a few internet headlines and caused emotional distress for the Smith family, which promoted Davey's daughter to speak out against her.
After being released from the WWF in July of 1998, Sytch made an almost immediate jump to ECW, where he had being appearing occasionally anyway prior to the WWF departure. Sunny and Candido had a rather sporadic run in ECW as rumors of the pair's drug use led to a hiatus from television in late 1998. When they resurfaced in the south Philadelphia based promotion, there was still much speculation about drug problems and Candido actually addressed the situation on the mic prior to a match with Taz in 1999. There was also the infamous ECW on TNN episode that featured Sytch talking about many of the rumored problems and many saw it as an attempt to exploit her. The duo made their way to WCW in 2000, but their run would last only a few months at the Turner company and they were released.
In the early 2000s, Sytch and Candido worked the independent scene and a six month stint in Puerto Rico, but most assumed their time as top performers were over. It turned out to only be the case for one of them. A healthy and clean Chris Candido reemerged in 2004 after taking most of the previous year off to get sober to refocus on his career. Candido's work on the independent circuit impressed and he was offered a deal with TNA in 2005. At just 34 years old, the nearly twenty year veteran had rejuvenated his career and it seems as though he was going to get a second run on the national stage. Sadly, Chris Candido died after a broken ankle suffered at a pay-per-view caused a blood clot a few days after he had surgery to repair it. As a shining example of his dedication and passion for the wrestling business, Candido's final wrestling appearance was when he managed The Naturals to win the tag titles from a wheel chair at ringside.
After Candido's passing, Tammy Sytch began making news for all the wrong reasons. A few return appearances to the WWE over the years led to her induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, which provided her with an opportunity to gracefully bow out of the spotlight and conclude her career as the "original diva" instead of another precautionary tale of the pitfalls of the wrestling business. However, Sytch was arrested an astounding five times the following year due to domestic incidents, most of which occurred within a short period of time. During the legal circus, Sytch went to WWE sponsored rehab on a few different occasions, but she continued the substance problems. After the rehab, Sunny did a "Breaking Kayfabe" interview, a series designed to look at an individual's life outside of the wrestling business, and she actually criticized WWE's efforts to help her get clean, suggesting that the facilities weren't as lavish during her repeated sponsored visits. So, the WWE paid to help her get healthy after her own destructive choices and she's still going to criticize them? She made terrible choices on her own and she has nobody to blame but herself. During the interview, Sytch also claimed that she was going to clean up her act, but shortly after the interview was filmed she was arrested for a sixth time in early 2013 for another domestic incident.
Sunny made headlines again in 2014 when she began offering the previously mentioned Skype sessions with fans willing to pay specific amount of money and again while you can't blame someone for working to pay their bills, it's certainly somewhat trashy that she had to resort to exposing herself online after a twenty year career. Last year was more of the same for Sytch, as she was arrested three times for DUI in the span of a few months and she failed to appear for a hearing on the charges, which prompted her to be arrested again in September for the previous charges. Just a few weeks ago, she pled guilty to the charges and is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of this month. There's no excuse for driving intoxicated and Sytch put other people at risk doing so, which could be another statement about her character as a person.
Maybe the legal woes are what prompted Tammy Sytch to sign on for an adult film, but can anyone see this situation going well? After nearly a dozen arrests, numerous stints in rehab, and a history of generally terrible decision making, is the adult industry really going to lead to any success for Tammy Sytch? It would seem that Sunny still enjoys the spotlight, as she gleefully told TMZ about the potential Vivid deal, but the attempts at publicity are pathetic. Let's be clear here, this isn't an attempt to smear Sunny because she's done enough to tarnish her own reputation herself, but to point out that this new venture seems more like a desperate attempt to get in the spotlight again than anything else. The bottom line is, Sunny the "original diva" had a notable career, but Tamara Sytch the person tarnished much of that legacy through a series of her own destructive decisions.
Will there be some viewers for Sytch's new film venture? Yes, but even a train wreck draws a few spectators.
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