Luminous Journal: 2020

The industry known to most as "pro-wrestling" has long desired to become branded "sports entertainment" in order to be taken as seriously as the traditional forms of entertainment the masses have embraced: music, film, the TV industry by large, the literary world and the gaming industry. However, it cannot deny its basic origins and all the various sins it continues to commit - against itself and its own people. An overview.
It is not absurd enough that the state of Florida considers these sort of events to be "essential services" rendered to the dim-witted population; on top of that, the workers in the industry, these days, appear to be lacking in many ways - of many essential things. Most lack gravitas, pizzazz or that certain je ne sais quoi that made stars from previous eras the legends that they became: Buddy Rogers, Billy Graham (the wrestler, not the evangelist), Verne Gagne, Terry Funk, Austin Idol, Lou Thesz, Michael PS Hayes, Terry Gordy, Bruno Sammartino, Bruiser Brody, Bobo Brazil, Antonio Inoki, André Roussimoff, Sting (the wrestler, not the singer) and of course Ric Flair. Many lack the in-ring talent to make all of that make-believe action truly believable. Many lack the basic acting talent, vital skills to deliver their lines and build momentum, generate interest for their storylines. And sadly, these days, it has become clear that more and more of them lack basic human skills altogether.

This goes, of course, way beyond the disgraceful remarks made by one Sammy Guevara of AEW towards Sasha Banks of WWE most recently; that was merely symptomatic of the greater problem and only the tip of that iceberg. The recent death by suicide of one Hana Kimura is far more tragic and effective in driving across the depths of the problems that surround the lives of these "superstars" of the sports entertainment industry. Her untimely demise brings back memories of the saddest tales we have seen unfold in this business: the ends of Nancy Toffolini, Elizabeth Houlette, Sherri Martel, Eddie Guerrero, Brad Armstrong, Leon White, Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, Owen Hart, Chris Candido and so many others through the years. Each time, the consensus is ''this has got to stop'' - yet it never does.

No matter how many times it gets posted, worded, repeated -

by former wrestlers turned politicians, notably;

Glenn "Isaac Yankem Kane' Jacobs

who followed in the footsteps of

Jesse "The Body" Ventura, for example -

the separation of colors is as real in pro-wrestling

as it is in virtually every other corner of society.

It only gets caricaturized to the extreme

in this circus that we call "sports entertainment"...

... which is always so eager to legitimize itself

by borrowing actual sports' stars of the day

to participate in the spectacle...

The paths of self-destruction are many - yet, the end is always the same. And the question, then, also the same: was this worth it at all? For every casualty there are many survivors, of course; some managed to find the right balance while others simply opted out of this before it was too late. Tammy Fytch is one of those and she chimed in on what sort of hard skin it takes in order to survive for so long as she has:

"For the record, I’ve probably been bullied and hated on by more assholes than ANYONE in my business on social media. I’ve been called some of the most horrific names and words out there. Not ONCE did I ever think of killing myself over it. I would never give them that much power. What do I do instead?? Thrive and make even MORE money and make them eat their words… Haters give ME power" - Tammy ''Sunny'' Fytch

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A longtime friend and co-worker of Hana also shared her thoughts about the tragedy most recently:

Kairi Sane has revealed that she attempted to help Hana as she was posting her final tweets and images of self-harm.

"I was able to notice her tweet right away because it was afternoon in the United States by the time difference (midnight in Japan time) and I called Jungle Screamer and Rossi Ogawa with Io immediately. Kyona went with all her might. However… I didn't make it in time," Kairi's tweet reads

"Hana-chan. I lost an important irreplaceable companion. There is a hole in my mind and it is difficult to accept this reality now," Kairi writes in another message.
Kimura's cause of death was ultimately due to ingesting hydrogen sulfide. We also noted how she was posting images of personal self-harm she was doing to herself which included cuts to her own skin.

Kimura recently appeared on a Japanese reality show that's sponsored by Netflix called, Terrace House, where she was involved in an incident on the show. Kimura apparently was upset at one of the roommates on the show for not taking her ring attire out of the laundry before starting his own. Her attire was ruined because of that. After some words exchanged, she knocked off his hat and left the room. Fans of Terrace House began cyberbullying her online, which looks to be a contributor towards her passing.

Debuting in 2016, Kimura has since won numerous titles in Stardom, worked a dark match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 event back in January, teaming with Giulia for a loss to Arisa Hoshiki and Mayu Iwatani. She also wrestled in a dark match at last year's ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden.

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It is a life so many are, almost literally, dying to undertake; the big time, the bright lights, the fame and sheer fun that this lifestyle brings. All who dream of it are more than willing to pay the price in order to achieve this: living on the road for most of the year, pay a physical toll and blur the lines between their in-ring persona and their true selves. Some will argue that Hana Kimura's tragic end is more a result of social media craziness spiraling out of control - yet the facts remain that the wrestling industry has accumulated a long list of unnecessary and totally avoidable demises over the decades that it has been known as ''sports entertainment'' specifically. It eats up the young and vigorous like, almost, nothing else does; Kairi Sane, who had just spoken about her friend Hana, recently suffered a scary injury simply due to the carelessness of her co-worker in a match that was televised. It was just another match among so many throughout the drawn-out, excruciatingly long schedule that these overtly exploited workers are given - and they are only too happy to fulfill their contractual obligations. But then it is often against better judgment, their own good and even reason ultimately.

Nia Jax, a cousin of the renowned Rock Dwayne Johnson

threw Kairi Sane head first into the steel steps at ringside

- with the gruesome result seen here:

Kairi believes (and is fully expected, by the WWE) to be returning

although she also plans -wisely- to retire from in-ring duty

sooner than later...

Injuries occur in AEW too:

Kris Statlander, looking all fierce and mean

mere moments before sustaining a knee injury that sets her back

months in her projected career path... These things cannot

be avoided sometimes - and they can never be predicted.

Another recent injury in the WWE sideshow circus tour:

the wrestler known as ''Edge'' who had just made a surprising

comeback to competition - and probably shouldn't have.

He might have wanted to stick to acting;

although the WWE-produced straight-to-cable tv movies

are awful and unwatchable, it sometimes leads to

castings outside of the company - this 'Edge' was seen

donning the guise of one ''Atom Smasher'' for DC

(on whichever one it was of those CW shows)

and, in the past, we saw the likes of Scott Steiner

and Buff Bagwell appear on an episode of

CHARMED, also... (NOT the CW version)

THE POINT BEING that ALL of these gigs...

or roles... are safer to undertake (!) than anything WWE.

One recalls, ironically, the time when Edge's

eventual WIFE evoked a ''no confidence clause''

in order to walk out on the WWE - with the poor

management being represented by another poor actor:

Jean-Paul Levesque... 'Triple H''

(him you've seen with fake fangs in a lamentable

Marvel movie: Blade III. Now, yes, we know: it was not

an MCU movie as there was no MCU back then -

still it was one of the earliest attempts at making

live action out of the Marvel mess and it paved the way to it

- but that is another story...)

Someone else's recollections of that storyline;

because, of course, all that no confidence stuff

was entirely scripted and make-believe - kayfabe in their jargon -

but it foreshadowed (and was based upon, really)

very real backstage problems that have now come back

to haunt Beth Phoenix again - and most specifically her husband

... among others.

The chief competition of the WWE appears to have things far more under control - if one makes exception of the juvenile Guevara... AEW carries on with their business through a pandemic because they simply have got to - suspending their activities was never an option for them as they lack what the well-established WWE has. And yet - it is the WWE that puts their employees at risk in a far more diversified variety of ways. It is the WWE that insists fans to come WITHOUT MASKS... And it is the WWE that has had an outbreak of their own; and it becomes very interesting to note that one of the contaminated employees is the one FIANCÉE of former employee now headlining AEW events - you see him at the very core center of that Pay-Per-View poster there, "Double Or Nothing" - Jon Moxley (formerly Dean Ambrose of the SHIELD - no, not that lousy Marvel make-believe organization either. A mere trio of misfits that he used to be a part of with yet another cousin of The Rock and some guy they deem to be the heir apparent - but one who has certainly not lived up to all the buzz - so far.)

Here he is: the self-proclaimed Monday Night Messiah

All he has certifiably accomplished in his LIFE, actually,

is get ''The Man'' Becky Lynch preggers

- oh, and he carelessly injured the legendary Sting

(again: the wrestler not the singer - Steve Borden)

effectively ending his long-tenure in pro wrestling

in the NWA, WCW, TNA Impact and WWE...

No, we are not admirers of Seth Rollins.

Not at all.

No - we will never see this match now - or ever.

And it is probably for the best...

given what they usually come up with nowadays...

Jon Moxley had all the rights to be pissed off at the WWE for so many excellent reasons beforehand - imagine what it is now as they basically kept his fiancée hostage, in their employ - forbidding her to join her betrothed in the rival AEW - only to expose her to the novel coronavirus soon after!? Renee Young should have never been exposed to it, never been "held hostage" by the WWE in any way following Ambrose/Moxley's departure - never been treated as "WWE property" in any way whatsoever. Alas, this sordid case is but the tip of the iceberg for an industry that hasn't changed much at all in that regard since the days when the women's champion was a lady by the name of Mildred...

Apparently, they are MARRIED.

It makes everything even WORSE - a hundred times worse!

Man shall not separate what GOD Has united ~

man shall not and much less WWE!

Vinnie Mac does not appear to know so much...

In fact, the way he runs his business has remained

the same disgraceful way since the very moment,

a long time ago, when he took it over from his dad:

ruthless, despicable tactics towards anyone deemed

to be a competitor - and as far as the employees go

they are treated as if they were his propriety...

His to squeeze dry 'til the very last drop.

As it goes for Renee Young - a member of the broadcast crew, officially, and not an in-ring talent whatsoever - so it goes for the various performers under contract with the company, you can imagine... Male or female, indeed; they are mere copyrighted entities, every single one of them. But it does go a step or several further (downwards) when it pertains to the fairer sex indeed; as they are used in a number of demeaning ways on top of the usual taxing physical toll the average WWE schedule takes on every single human being on the payroll there...

Women's wrestling is at an all-time high

- and yet, the girls are used, for the greater part, very much

according to the old standards and stereotypes

that have permeated all forms of entertainment

since the dawn of show-business...

Whether they are presented as ''in-ring talent''

pseudo-athletes, competitors, ''superstars''...

Or whether they act as valets to other wrestlers,

as commentators, broadcasters, pseudo-journalists

and interviewers... Ring announcers, even

(hello Lillian Garcia) ~ they will all be called upon

to play up that aspect of their person, sooner or later;

they will be called upon to do swimwear photo shoots,

lingerie competitions, strike suggestive poses...

And participate in ludicrous storylines very often!

Chelsea Green, as the girlfriend of one underused "superstar" Zack Ryder

(host of a collector's corner type of vignette on the WWE YouTube channel,

as WWE aptly exploits his addiction to action figures and collectibles)

can be dragged into the sideshow at any given time -

like countless other spouses have been before her...

(Former WCW Nitro Girl Rebecca Michaels

and Mark Callous' first (?) wife "Stalked Sara"

are but two of the most memorable and lamentable examples...)

Those who are fortunate enough to be in the position

to actually suggest their very own ideas for a ludicrous storyline

can count their blessings - for as long as that will last...

And then there are those legitimate talents,

with an actual pedigree that cannot be denied:

they can perform (i.e. act) on the lamest stages

and still maintain the aura of a legitimate champion.

In Women's wrestling today, two stand out from the pack:

Ric Flair's daughter and Tully Blanchard's daughter.

And, at blogging time, we still tend to give the edge to

one Tessa Blanchard...

Since Charlotte Flair has simply become...

tainted by the WWE.

Just look at the cringe-inducing moments that "WWE creative"

has given both Ashley (her real name) and Ric

to act out - for no reason at all, really...

No wonder this sort of petition has come about since then:

You see; no matter where she goes next,

you will never see such a petition about

Tessa Blanchard.

Pro-wrestling is not for the faint of heart, after all; the legendary Ric Flair himself recounted his humble beginnings (at his hall of fame induction) when he tried out and quit not once but twice due to it being so tough! Verne Gagne made him reconsider then - and persevere. Everyone involved in that business knows exactly what they're getting into; and they probably wouldn't have it any other way because they want that: they grew up watching that, they crave that spotlight, sometimes to be creative sometimes just for the fame and fortune it promises - probably for all of those reasons and more. And thy will do whatever it takes to get there - and stay there. There were steroid abuse scandals, many untold horrors through the decades (what happened to the late Nancy Toffolini comes immediately to mind as the worst of them all) but what saddens the most to see now, in 2020, is that nothing has changed this beast - and that it is all set to, probably, get even worse in the years ahead.

One of the wretched faces of pro-wrestling today:

Bad Luck Fale (aptly-named character though - one must give him that)

voicing his discontent here over the fact that he was, essentially,

blackballed from making it to the so-called "big time" with either

leader of the Bullet Club (WWE's A.J. Styles but, most of all,

AEW self-styled leader of The Elite - Kenny Omega.

Omega actually is the head creative of AEW -

and in many ways the true rival of WWE's Triple H.)

In truth, with international "superstars" such as this

(Bad Luck is huge - in Japan's NJPW)

they might as well all be vampires indeed:

Promoters such as Vince remain scarier stuff than

all this kayfabe, shenanigans and make-believe,

without a doubt:

as most of them are quickly disposed of - with sunlight or a stake

through their forsaken hearts, in the movies

- or a rapid three-count in the squared circle here.

Not even a pandemic could stop this - when the Euro Cup and OLYMPICS both were cancelled, the WWE kept going. Think about it; as people are becoming infected, the WWE still wants to invite rabid fans to come back to their television tapings without masks - risking their life to watch, LIVE, the wrestlers risk life and limb for them... I humbly suggested that fans should be defiant and still put on masks; not only that, but wear custom-made masks that are embroidered with messages that can tick off the WWE: things such as ''nWo'' or ''WCW Lives'' or, better yet as it is in sync with the troubled times we live in, either ''BLM'' or ''ALM'' - your pick, really. The state of Florida makes it so that all of this can go on indeed, uninterrupted since the very beginning of the pandemic too; they declared WWE wrestling (specifically, because they are pretty much the only game in town) but pro-wrestling in general to be ''an essential service'' for crying out loud...! Essential - really? To the livelihood of its artisans, maybe it is - alas.

Ric Flair is not the only old-timer pandering to the "Flagship"

as they call it... all the while acting as the pioneers of emancipation!

Cue in SGT. SLAUGHTER - probably hoping to join the likes of

retired "superstars" Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Jake

"The Snake" Roberts and Tazz in... AEW, these days!

And Ric Flair, in his old age, was invited to be part of it too: he was in the ring with two other (active) wrestlers that he knows very well - just for an insignificant segment... for no reason at all, truly! He put his life at risk for this - just because he wants to, wants to feel as though he has, in fact, ''never retired'' as he once said he would, some twenty years ago already... almost. But one can legitimately ask ''WHY?'' - as even a huge doofus like Hulk Hogan has realized that the pandemic has taken away all (or most) of our habits of idolatry; GOD Has taken them away, as both Terry Bollea and I would say, verily... So why keep this freak circus sideshow going - and participate in it at your own risk and peril? Financial reasons can be the only explanation that makes any sense. But if it makes sense for most of the slave labor, that it applies to Ric Flair also is extremely sad and disheartening indeed.

As the remake of the old WCW-WWF Monday Night Wars

of the late nineties, this Wednesday Night War

leaves a little bit to be desired... but is fine on its own, still.

Chaps such as Paul E. appear to live only for this business;

this is their art form, their livelihood too - and they will stick

to it no matter what may come. Even if it means

working for the man who put you out of business

and then ruined your life's work (ECW)

And, now, Paul has just been fired by Vince McMahon (left)

yet again - though he will remain employed as a "talent"

Right...

Women wrestlers are experiencing a BOOM these days, yes:

it cannot be denied. They are given much more to do;

they are being creative, athletic and showcased

like never before in the history of the "sport" -

however, if it is to be the likes of Rosemary, Su Yung,

Sister Abigail or Abadon and their creepy like

leading the way... Mae Young may not be able to

rest in peace.

Thankfully, there are still pure athletic girl nextdoor types too:

joining Tessa and Charlotte (...) we see plenty more in that mold

being given a shot at stardom - and being exploited too, alas.

AEW, WWE, TNA Impact, ROH, NJPW, NWA...

They are all equally guilty in that, really -

for they all conduct business the very same way.

It is unquestionably the answer: as stated before, in the case of the AEW and many individual wrestlers, it is a question of their survival, their basic financial livelihood - now as in the future. Essential workers in the real world also could not just ''stop working and stay home'' for the most part - those who could were few and truly lucky in an exceptional way. In the particular case of the pro-wrestling industry (as with other toxic work environments out there - they know who, what and where they are) it is just another layer of risk and endangerment added on top of the usual stuff they have piled up against them already - therefore, it's nothing to break any sweat over. Guys like Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho in the AEW do it as their badge of honor - to stick it to the rival WWE (although they are pitted against the subsidiary NXT for TV ratings, officially, there is no mistake who the true enemy is.) While Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes, along with his wife Brandi Alexis Reed and Tony Khan have a lot invested in AEW - they have got to keep it running, they simply must. But the WWE? And legends like Ric Flair, who by all means should be financially set by now? Why add tension to an already toxic-to-the-max backstage, with all the politics involved, the lofty aspirations of some, the standards and practices of an outdated business model...? And why steep in it again, when you are happily retired and an over-20-time champion (it is not just sixteen, no) who owes nobody anything...? (Well, maybe he does owe - alimony to more than one ex-wife, too! And, again, his financial situation does not appear to be what it should be. But that's another story...) Flair has been outright rude (ironically enough) when it comes to outsiders like me analyzing and berating his precious industry there - from the outside, looking in...! Well, it's just too bad, Ric; because one does not even need to get in there in order to see all that is rotten to the very core of it... Wooooo.

What has come to light now, with so many wrestlers being exposed as sexual deviants and predators and so many of their victims #speaking out on it in social media, is like a distorted funhouse mirror version of the womanizer character Flair used to portray so well in the '80s and '90s. Only, now, it is reality - and it is anything but mildly amusing as it might have been back then, with the "kayfabe" (their slang for make-believe; think of it as a "covfefe" before the strange Twitter days we live in today...) PG-rated harmless antics of one "Nature Boy"...

As long as the pro-wrestling industry continues to give

this bogus ''superstar'' status to basic jerks and creeps

such as these two guys - firing them afterwards once they've

shown their true nature to the world and the mindless fans -

it will remain but a sideshow freak circus

worthy of very little respect.

(Above: Ligero and Travis Banks - both let go by WWE

for the most disgraceful reasons; both were supposed to be

the kind of stars that would propel NXT over AEW...)

... to which many commented:

Try and sell your make-believe monsters after that -

when the run-of-the-mill competitor arbors such vice

and disgraceful behaviour all over social media...

The Stunning Stone Cold Steve Austin himself

-also known as a notorious abuser of women-

famously quit the business altogether

when they were trying to force him to work his routine

into a mere ''qualifying match'' - when he saw

potential for ''main event match on pay-per-view'' in it...

Because, you see, these types are also huge EGOMANIACS -

they'd have to be such, of course...

Michael Elgin has been released the same way as Ligero

and Travis Banks were - due to his basic nature being

sullied by misogyny and racism - while Tessa Blanchard

simply stopped showing up amidst pandemic pandemonium

in the United States (even on video feed; through Skype

or something!) thus becoming a free agent

who can go back to wrestling only women now

-or carry on wrestling men- elsewhere... eventually!

Elgin and Blanchard, ironically, share traits in being

difficult to work with - on top of the persistent rumors

regarding racist slurs and comments of the sort...

This match - will also never take place.

Official cause: too overtly narcissist-type

misbehaving and totally out of line.

Callahan will have to find himself new opponents...

No worries - he will.

The posterboy of the entitled generation

(the dude on the right: Matt Riddle)

always believed and still believes that he deserves

to be granted stellar marquee matches with

the biggest names in the company he works for;

veterans like Kurt Angle or Brock Lesnar...

Add all of those matches to the list of

''matches that will never happen''

- although the only one truly regrettable remains

Alas, things will probably never change in pro-wrestling - as they do not in other highly toxic environments either. A major cleansing simply cannot take place; not with the baton being constantly passed on to some like-minded individuals that carry on the exact s(h)ame shenanigans and all... The flurry of regrettable cases of blatant perversion that have been reported lately via social media have made it clear that it is firmly entrenched in the very fabric of the beast here: it is the very nature of it. But the truth is that men are not better served by this unforgiving industry. How can they be with these unrelenting schedules that have them working non-stop for most of the year, without respite; the only ones who get a break are those fortunate enough to get a mild injury (say, a torn ligament) or if you marry the boss' daughter... The toll of this infernal pace adds up in no time at all - and you see young men such as Brian Pillman (once a Flyin' high type) become addicted to painkillers just to keep up - and then they go to sleep one night on the road, in a hotel room, never to wake up again. Ric Flair's own son, Reid, was so keen on following on his father's footsteps that he wound up only preparing his path to an excessively early grave. Multiple cases have been chronicled in the WWE (dating back to its days as WWF) of "talents" that were taxed beyond the limits, pressed to perform, squeezed like lemons and then tossed aside once they were either deemed unsaleable, not profitable to exploit anymore or simply unexploitable due to their old age or simple wear and tear factor. The most horrendous case would be, depending on the point of view, either ''André The Giant'' or the character of the Blue Blazer portrayed by one Owen Hart. His brother, Bret Hart, did say many things one can disagree with - but he once said one thing that was absolutely true: there have been so many wrestling tragedies. And, ultimately, all that the talent can do -whether they are despicable themselves, like their employer, or merely (more) victims- is try and survive down this process while performing in their chosen art form and profession.

Nothing but respect for performers like Cody Rhodes -

formerly known as Stardust in the wretched WWE

and, now, truly himself as The American Nightmare

in his own company - AEW.

Ultimately, however, his following in the legendary footsteps

of his famous father, American Dream Dusty Rhodes,

evokes only one thing: the son paying for the sins of the father.

And only The Good Lord Knows

what that will entail, in the long run...

This should belong to the true successor of NWA/WCW tradition:

AEW - not the WWE and certainly not the NXT!

If there really has to be more BASHES, that is...

THE WAR RAGES ON -

in many ways WCW does still live...

When WCW folded, some twenty (20) years ago, there were many of the regular (but underappreciated) talents there that were legitimately worried about their future. And they were right; many were never seen again on such a worldly stage. The WWE did not hold their word "to take care" of each and every one there once the merger (takeover, really) took effect. Some talents did crossover - taking part in the poorly-executed "invasion" storyline where the wretched McMahon family could not resist the temptation of stealing the spotlight from all that talent at their disposal...! (And that was a magnificent display of self-sabotage in and by itself - but that is not the point right now.) All the lives that were wrecked by this buy out - the likes of which had never been seen before, not on such a scale... Just off the top of one's head: the Harris Brothers, Das Wunderkind Alex "Berlyn" Wright, the man they called The Wall, Lodi, Raven, all of the Nitro Girls, Juventud Guerrera, La Parka, Kid Romeo, Madusa Miceli, Evan Karagias, Disco Inferno Greg Gilberti, Lash Leroux and the artist formerly known as Prince Iaukea (...) none of those ever had a chance to hit the big time again. And of those who did get that precious "chance" to get spotlighted in the WWE, several are now dead, too: Mike Awesome, Sean O'Haire, Chris "Mortis" Kanyon (who committed suicide) as well as both Brian "Crush" Adams (not the singer) and Bryan "Adam Bomb" Clarke who formed the impressive tag-team KRONIK. While those who survived did so by finding themselves some similar gigs on the independent circuit, the luckier ones put a stop to the grind before the wear and tear came to be too much. It cannot be denied that the WWE does help out those that they want to, behind the scenes: notorious alcoholic Scott Hall and veteran ring announcer Howard Finkel have been two of those beneficiaries (although the latter died last April at the age of 69 and, even though Vince McMahon reputedly footed the bill for hospital treatment, the cause of death remains "currently not known" - mysteriously enough...) however, in truth and fact, the same WWE did absolutely nothing for "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Lex Luger, Elizabeth Houlette and so many more...

Just giving credit where it is due: nobody is all bad...

And that is made painfully clear each and every week

in those wrestling programs, too - with wrestlers such as

"Big Show" (Paul Wight) changing from "heel" to "face"

(from bad guy to good guy) as often as he changes underwear

- since 1997 (at least) when he started out in WCW.

(Much like Eddie Guerrero did.)

The kayfabe fantasy is a mirror of reality, see?

That these scandals nowadays with the business rife with sexual predators and rampant racism are symptomatic of the business itself as it has been since its very beginning and constantly was all throughout the decades cannot be denied - by anyone. This beast also has a huge substance (and/or alcohol) abuse problem plaguing its ranks, backstage politics that fringe upon despotism, an unsafe work environment for, truly, a myriad reasons nowadays and very serious risks of physical injury of all kinds - from spinal injury to broken bones - most of all concussions going totally undiagnosed; a problem so serious that it has become former "Tough Enough" contestant/wrestler Chris Nowinski's personal crusade now...

I always did find it ironic... and telling, too... that

the very last WCW pay-per-view event, in 2001,

was a brand-new title never before seen nor used since

and it was a follow-up on one of the previous

year's uses of the most obvious of the seven sins

- GREED - which totally describes any

industry of this ilk... But that very last P-P-V?

It was simply called... WCW SIN.

As if WCW was taking upon itself

the sin of the entire industry...

Alas, somehow, one doubts it ever will.

Luminous Journal

Monday, October 5, 2020

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Friday, September 4, 2020

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Wednesday, July 8, 2020

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