A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

wrestling

Pro Wrestling Hall fun for a visit, but lacks “special” feel

Though it was a fun visit, the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame felt a little more like a memorabilia shop than a hall of fame. Even the plaque gallery, just kind of mixes in with everything else. See part of it to the right of this photo.

A couple of months ago, I had the chance to finally visit the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

It was a very cool place for those interested in the sport or sports history. In fact, within a few hours of me, there are several Hall of Fames. The closest being the Baseball Hall in Cooperstown. There’s also the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. (about three hours from me), which I haven’t been to.

Then there’s the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame, located in downtown Amsterdam, NY.

The Hulkster’s Hall of Fame plaque.

As a fan of pro wrestling, I’ve long wanted to check this place out. It’s not a far drive from me and I always wanted to see what it was about. I finally got that chance last weekend when two of us took a jaunt up to visit. The Hall is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, so we went up on a cold Saturday afternoon.

Now, take into account a few things — this Hall is free to enter, is run by volunteers and isn’t that old, compared to other Halls. Therefore, I wouldn’t hold it on the same pedestal as say Cooperstown.

Still, one thing a Hall of Fame should do is tell a story. When you wander through the Baseball Hall, or Boxing Hall — or even when it was still open, the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta — you got a story. The development of the sport, the early days on through to the present. You see artifacts that help tell the story in an organized way.

I didn’t get that as much at the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Don’t get me wrong — I fully enjoyed the visit. And I really understand that this Hall isn’t backed by anything major (say, World Wrestling Entertainment) and it’s likely much harder to get wrestling items to show off.

I still want the story.

The Pro Wrestling Hall is a two-story building in a quaint part of Amsterdam. Surrounding spots look run-down or abandoned, giving the feel of old-time wrestling. The one disappointing part is the two of us had to travel to another part of Amsterdam to find a quick lunch. We had been hoping to find a place near the Pro Wrestling Hall, but we didn’t find anything open.

Once we entered the Hall, we went and signed in. Though no charge, they ask people to sign in.

There are some amazing artifacts at the Pro Wrestling Hall, but the placement doesn’t help tell the story and the history.

The first floor was a potpourri of wrestling items. From things like outfits and a belt won by the Fabulous Moolah to turnbuckles eaten by George “The Animal” Steele to outfits and handwritten manuscripts of Mick Foley. The “plaque gallery” of Hall of Famers is also on the first floor, stuck in a back corner and surrounded by memorabilia and jammed in with everything else.

It was a bit hard to move around in that the aisles aren’t wide. It was almost like a sports card store, where you are looking to buy something for your collection. Items weren’t all in cases, and those that were often had other items on top of the cases, so it’s hard to capture a good photo if you’re looking to do so.

Too, things weren’t really grouped in any certain order. A small thing about the Fabulous Freebirds was atop a case and across from many of the women’s wrestling things. Then there were a few cases of things you could pick up at a retail store, such as fake championship belts. Believe me, I feel toys are a massive part of recent wrestling history. The figures and toys kids get are all about brand placement and help the sport. But they shouldn’t be placed with legit wrestling items.

One thing I truly was disappointed about was the lack of championship belts on display. Now, I’m sure these are not easy to procure. But the handful that they do have, are not displayed well enough to allow photos or people to get a feel of them. One — an AWF championship, was in a case about knee level. The case, of course, had other things on top of it.

Robes, shirts and such were out free, in the elements. Some of the things that I thought would be cool to see — such as the shorts Mick Foley wore in his first pro match — were out of the main view and were covered up, for the most part, by an over-sized framed piece of paper telling you what they were. And you couldn’t see much from the top because, well, there were things on top of the case.

The cases many Hall of Fames use are specialty cases. They help the artifacts in regard to air and all the bad things that can age or damage said pieces.

So many things here are left out in the open or in regular cases.

Paul Orndorff’s robe and boots on display, but out in the open.

The upstairs was more spread out, but filled with framed 8×10 promotional photos, some outfits, promotional posters and a few really cool artifacts. Alas, the story isn’t fully told, so it seems more like a memorabilia store. I was left wondering about some things and how they fit in with the history of pro wrestling.

I did enjoy many of the items, such as “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff’s ring attire, as well as the attire (and rope) from Stan “The Lariat” Hanson. some of the posters and promotional photos were very cool.

But I couldn’t help but wonder what this place would be like if a story was told. The plaque gallery in the small room in the back of the upstairs wing — all by themselves. A history of the sport spread out throughout the building, starting from the early days to the present. Having the women’s section (which to be fair, they did have pretty much all together), in another section, showing the history of ladies in wrestling.

Again, I realize doing something like this requires money. I hope, one day, the money is there and the vision is to transform that Hall of Fame into something fully special. I was there on a Saturday afternoon and saw three other people the whole time we were there. It is the winter, though, so that’s understandable.

In the end, I’m really glad I went. And, I’m sure, I’ll visit again some day. But I still left thirsting for more of the Hall of Fame experience — wanting the story told and knowing I left understanding why each artifact was on display and how it meshed with the history of pro wrestling. I didn’t leave there with that feeling.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Looking back at 2012: Finding the good in an awful year

No matter how bad things are, sometimes you have to sit back, realize it’s a blessing to be alive and smile.

This post definitely will have its ups and downs.

Last year when I did a look back at the year, I was in the same situation I am now — unemployed. But I still was optimistic. I had taken advantage of the year by being able to see things as I did my job search.

But as those months continued into 2012, it got worse.

I didn’t go see things as much. I canceled — understandably so — a trip to GeoWoodstock X (to be fair, it sounds like canning the trip wasn’t the worst thing. I hope to get back to GeoWoodstock some time in the future). I also didn’t do several things I had hoped to do, such as do a repeat trip to my Aunt’s house on the Jersey Shore.

Still, I’ve tried to remain as upbeat and as positive as I can. Despite knowing the end is near (or done if nothing has happened) to unemployment benefits, I realize I’m not even close to many others. I have a roof over my head, food to eat and family and friends who care enough about me to try and help or get my mind off things, if even just getting together for a slice of pizza or a beer.

That doesn’t take away from the negative thoughts I have in my head. I look at others who are successful and happy in life and wonder if I’ll reach that. I realize I chose a bad career path — or at least it seems — and I need to figure out something to do.

Hopefully, 2013 will be that year.

That being said, 2012 wasn’t a total wash. The reality is, I try and do whatever I can to try keep an upbeat attitude, if even just for a day or two. The lack of finances has made me look for more affordable things to do, especially in the local area. From photography to community events, I’ve seen a lot more of the area, which is a positive thing.

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One of the biggest — and brightest spots of my year was Rattling Chains, a blog I created to cover the sport of disc golf. This was done as a hobby during my spare time as I wanted to see if a niche blog like that could work. Disc golf is an extremely fast growing sport, so maybe something like this could take off.

And, compared to my hopes, it did.

I had a fun year in disc golf, but would have liked to played more!

Since launching the blog in early March, the site has received more than 115,000 views. That’s not shabby for a small crew (there are 3-5 of us who write on a regular basis) and with no financial backing or gain. We’ve put out some quality content and that’s been something I’ve really been proud of.

At times, it’s been hard to continue. And there’s no guarantee we’ll make it. Who knows what life brings. But for now, we’re doing well and have a loyal group following us.

In other parts of disc golf, I didn’t play as much as I would have liked this year. Unfortunately the drive to get a local course failed, so that made it harder for me to play. Driving 1 1/2 hours to play a round isn’t smart in regard to time or finances.

That meant I also only played in five tournaments this year — two PDGA-sanctioned tournaments (I reached my goal of hitting 700 as a rating), two doubles tournaments (we cashed in one!) and one Ace Race.

I’ve also played a bunch of casual rounds — including one with 2010 world champion Eric McCabe. So, in the end, I think I improved quite a bit, which is something I wanted to do.

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During this year, besides seeking a job, I was also seeking something else — peace.

The reality is, I have a lot of hate when it comes to some things in my life. I’m coming to terms with much of it and, I think, by the end of this job hunt, I’ll have come to total peace.

In fact, I really think I’ll face it head-to-head when I know my life is taking a better turn.

In the meantime, as I tried to shake it — I wanted to find some sort of peace. Kind of finding that place where I knew I could get away and just relax and not worry about anything else.

For those of you who know one of my closest friends Darren, you know he’s got his hands into so many things. That usually means when I get the chance to hang out with him, there’s going to be something different.

Finding kayaking was an important part of my year.

Kayaking was one of them.

Though I had always wanted to learn to kayak, I had never done it until this year. The first couple of times I went was with Darren. I used one of his kayaks and we paddled the local river. However, the kayak wasn’t truly good for me.

The next several times I went, I rented at a local kayak place. The owner was extremely helpful every time I went, helping me find the right kayak and showing me what I needed to do. The first time or two I went, I had to get the feel of it. From then on out, I got the “feel” of it within the first five minutes and I was all over it.

I still can’t do like others — have the legs out while chilling — but I’m sure that will come in time. I also need to figure out how to kayak for a couple of hours without back pain!

The one thing I truly found with kayaking?

Peace.

There is something to be said about being on the water with not many around and just coast, soak up some sun and listen to nature. It’s peaceful. You can get into a great place when out there.

I also held our area’s first water-based geocaching event. We had more than 30 people come out on a warm fall day, paddle a mile and a half to the event and enjoy everything.

Way too cool.

I don’t set resolutions or anything like that, but I’m really hoping to be able to afford a kayak and a roof rack this year. I can definitely see me going kayaking a whole heap more, especially if I don’t have to rent every time I go.

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Speaking of geocaching, I had a decent year with that hobby.

According to my statistics, I found 539 caches this year, which is my highest total since finding 1,030 in 2009. Since then, I’ve founf 491 (2010) and 396 (2011).

I finished a monumental challenge in completing the New York State DeLorme Challenge, which is something I’ve worked on for several years. Two big one-day road trips helped me get to the final point, which was awesome. I was excited to share the moment with some friends and it was nice to know I completed the challenge.

It’s been fun finding caches and doing some DeLorme road trips this year.

The challenge final was also my 3,000th find.

I’ve also completed the New York County Challenge, but I have yet to go find the final.

During the year, I had the chance to hit up 13 events, including the first New England mega event, which was held in Massachusetts  We made it a one-day trip (it was only a few hours from me) and had a good time, despite the crazy heat.

Including the seven events I hosted this year, I have launched 16 new caches in 2012. One of those was also my 50th hide (I now have 59). I think I’m most proudest of that, because it’s always nice to put out new caches.

It hasn’t been all great, though. We had a geocache attack this year, stealing upward of 10 ammo cans. A good bulk of them were mine or one other persons. I wondered if it was somebody local or somebody coming through the area and stealing them. The worst part was when my golden ammo can was replaced (it was done by someone else), it was stolen a second time — and one of her caches that was nearby was also close. I don’t know if it’s somebody local, but I won’t lie when I say I think it has to be someone with some sort of a vendetta. Since then, however, it seems to have ceased. So we can hope, anyway.

In the end, it was a good year for caching. I had the chance to go on some really fun caching days and got to meet new people. Though I had to cancel two trips to mega events I wanted to hit for financial reasons, I still enjoyed the year of caching. In the end, it did what it normally does — gave me an out to forget things for a while and took me to some places I likely never would have found without the game.

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This has been an interesting year when it comes to photography, which is why I’ll be breaking that down into more than one category.

First, professional wrestling. I’ve blogged about this before, but when it comes to photography, I’ve really found a lot of fun in shooting wrestling. Especially independent federations. First, it’s cheap entertainment (usually, tickets are $10-$15 for about three hours of action). Second, you can get some great images, be it action, close-ups or even the fans.

One of my favorite images this year in regard to wrestling — Brodie Lee. He’s since been signed by WWE and is wrestling under the name Luke Harper.

I have to say, I’m kind of shocked at how many events I went to this year. I took photos at 16 wrestling events and attended at least one other where I didn’t take any images. That’s quite a few. But I’ve loved the images I’ve taken. I also had the chance to tag along with a couple of indy wrestlers to a training seminar.

You get quite the variety of quality, too. Some is bad, some is good, some is awesome.

Either way, it’s a slice of variety that makes it fun to take photos.

I’ve also had the chance to get to know some of the personalities and am working on some writing projects with a few of them. In the end, I hope to talk to several others and make this one massive project — possibly a book.

After all, the photos only tell half the stories.

Though many people look own upon this sport, these guys (and gals) who do this really have some interesting stories to tell. Some are wild, some are good and some are bad. Some are downright tragic.

I am happy I’ve been able to shoot this sport. I’ve grown up a wrestling fan, so being able to capture these images has been awesome. That being said, one thing the training session taught me is being able to take photos at ringside is way better than being back in the crowd. Maybe in 2013, I’ll get that chance to get up close and personal to shoot the sport in a different light. I’ll look to rent a lens beforehand if that opportunity comes.

I didn’t use my favorite wrestling shot of the year in this post because it’s graphic and I want people to make their own choice if they want to see it. Note it’s bloody. If you want to see it, click here.

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This year hasn’t always been the best for photography.

I started out the year with a bang being involved in the second year of the HooHaa 52 and taking part in the 366 Project.

Some of you may remember I completed the 365 Project in 2010. The project is where you take a photo every day for a full year. I finished in in 2010 and swore I’d never do it again.

My Feb. 28 shot for the failed 366 Project.

However, 2012 was a leap year, so …

Needless to say, I didn’t make it. I sputtered throughout the summer and forced myself to keep going. Once the fall hit, I really hit a wall. No job equaled fewer opportunities to travel around and taking photos in my immediate area was becoming a bore.

So, after about 250 days, I called it quits.

I realize I only had three months or so remaining, but I knew I wasn’t going to make it. So I had two decisions — push as long as I could, or end it there. I decided to end it there, knowing I’d really get mad if I made it to December or something and then slipped.

Also, I think knowing I had completed this project in 2010 made it easier for me to call it quite.

The HooHaa 52 was also a failure. I was about 10 weeks shy of finishing. The reason there is the majority of people who joined this challenge had faltered. And others were using older photos or logging too many in a row. So I got frustrated and gave up.

That being said, Year 3 of the HooHaa 52 is starting this week and I’m more excited than I have been in the past for this challenge. I think we have a good group of people and have tweaked the rules to make it easier. Hopefully by this time next year, I’ll be telling you all about how I finished the project and how proud I am of the group and everything that got done.

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Travel this year was limited. I hit up the Lancaster area early in the year for a couple days of disc golf. Same with a short weekend trip to Philly in November, where I also got to stay with relatives and see some relatives I hadn’t seen in a while.

The Cooperstown Winter Festival was one of the local events I checked out this year.

There were also the two days of 22-plus hours of travel and caching to fill the DeLorme squares. And I ventured a few places to play disc golf, usually day trips.

But things I had hoped to do this year — a couple of geocaching trips, a trip to the Vibram Open — it just wasn’t in the cards this year.

And I’m OK with that. I realize my time needed to be spent (and still does) applying and searching for employment. It’s part of this crazy part of my life I’m in. Throwing money out for big trips just isn’t justifiable, when I’m trying to keep my head above water with bills.

That being said…

What this year taught me was to find more things locally. Things such as area fairs or festivals that are low cost (or free) and things put on for the community. I had the chance to see different things in a different light.

I also explored more of the local area, through geocaching and photography, to try and get out and visit local parks and such. There are a few I missed and I look forward to checking in 2013. There are also many awesome state parks within a couple hours from here. They offer many things and after receiving an Empire Pass for Christmas this year, I plan on trying to visit as many as possible this year.

I got involved with helping people looking for photos of headstones via Find A Grave and did some personal photography challenges. I worked on geocaching things in the local area. There really are so many things in people’s local areas they don’t know about. It’s unfortunate it took me this long to realize it. I look forward to looking at things like this in the future though.

It truly is amazing how you look at things differently when you have to find more cheap and inexpensive means of entertainment.

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In the end, the year featured more than I can put in this post.

It definitely had its ups and downs. Though a lot of the downs outweighed some things, the reality is I still am here on Earth, have good family and friends and am better off than so many others.

I also do believe things happen for a reason.

What the reason is that I’m going through all of this right now? No idea. But hopefully it will show its face in 2013.

Thanks to everyone who has visited the site through this year and I hope to have many more things to post about in the upcoming year!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Bumps and tosses: Training for pro-wrestling isn’t easy

Chuck Szili demonstrates a hip toss to an aspiring professional wrestler at a training seminar led by Szili and tag-team partner Sean Carr.

For those who watch pro wrestling beyond WWE, you know it can be a zany world.

From large crowds at smaller venues or smaller crowds at the same venue — sometimes being fewer than 100 in the crowd — the life of a wrestler on the independent circuit can be hard.

In recent weeks and months I’ve talked to several independent wrestlers and personalities with the hope of working on a series for the blog. The idea is to tell the stories of these wrestlers, the life on the road and the good and the bad.

The great thing about wrestlers? They all have a story to tell and, usually, it’s a different story. My hope is to take these stories and add on and have longer versions and turn those into an e-Book, but the series and/or book won’t be finished for at least a few months as I’m just starting to get into it.

It’s a crazy life these wrestlers live. This series of stories should even be compelling to non-wrestling fans because  there are things you’ll read that will make you wonder why any sane person would get involved with this profession.

Chuck Szili locks up with a wrestling student as tag-team partner Sean Carr (bottom left) and other trainees look on in this long-exposure shot.

I know what many people will say — “Come on, wrestling’s fake…”

When describing professional wrestling, one thing I despise is the word “fake.”

You want fake? Ask indy wrestler Charade if it’s fake. Check out this YouTube video. Be warned — this is kind of crazy and I firmly believe Charade should feel lucky he’s alive today. There’s no blood in this video, but what happens will make most people cringe. Note that the wrestler did live and apparently is better off than many might be in this situation.

So, the word “fake” is the wrong one to use.

Maybe planned? Choreographed? Worked? It’s entertainment. This isn’t the 50s or 70s or something like that anymore where the public didn’t — or acted like they didn’t — know what was going on.

These guys, after all, are still athletes and do some insanely crazy things.

When watching, you just hope they are trained correctly, can put on a good show and don’t get seriously maimed doing it.

This past Saturday, I had a really cool opportunity to join Binghamton-area wrestlers Sean Carr and Chuck Szili, who competes as Kage in the wrestling world, on a road trip to the Scranton area and see a training seminar. Carr, an acrobatic wrestler, is a relative newcomer to the sport, competing for about four or five years. Szili is the veteran, entering his 13th year. He’s traveled throughout the world to wrestle, even getting a proverbial cup of coffee with the WWE, wrestling on the Smackdown show a few years ago.

The two also form the tag team “CK,” and compete in 2CW (Squared Circle Wrestling), a top-level independent federation based out of Syracuse. Like many indy wrestlers, they also compete in other federations throughout the Northeast, but 2CW is their main spot.

Over the past few months, I’ve had to chat with these two at cards and such and have really been impressed with them. Not just as athletes, but how they look at this profession, realistically. They see it more than doing 15 high-risk moves and not doing anything beyond it. They think about telling a story, saving the big spots for when needed and being able to connect with the crowd.

Sean Carr slaps a headlock on a trainee at the Back Breaker Training Center.

That’s refreshing.

As a fan, I appreciate that. When I go to a wrestling event — whether it be the best of the best or the worst of the worst — I just want to believe for a few hours. I still enjoy heroes and villains, cheering and booing and going along with being part of the show. After all, the crowd is a major part of wrestling. But if a wrestler is poorly trained, it becomes less believable.

In the dozen or so 2CW cards I’ve seen, the believability is there. The villains are villains. The heroes are heroes. Does that line sometime get skewed? Sure. But for the most part, the good vs. bad is present.

Many federations don’t seem to be able to do this well — thus taking away believability. I once went to a card where one of the guys yelled to the crowd “we’re supposed to be the good guys.”

Here’s a bit of advice — if you are having to tell people if you are the villain or the hero? You haven’t done your job.

Beyond that, the action has to be believable. I want to watch a show, be entertained and know the people put everything into it. Federations like 2CW are like that. Others are the complete opposite. It might be about being “hardcore” or doing a ton of crazy things that could send one to the hospital.

It’s not worth it when you are getting $20 or $30 a night — if you are lucky.

Saturday’s trip took Szili and Carr to Back Breakers Training Center. Szili had trained there some 10 years ago and has a good relationship with the head of the school, Justyn Glory.

What followed was an impressive 3 1/2 hour session full of hip tosses, slams, running of the ropes, stories and advice.

I walked away with a new appreciation of what these guys do.

Here’s a bit of history. When I was in high school, one of my dreams was to be a professional wrestler. I’ll touch more on this when I run the full series of these stories, but I dreamed of one day being the (then) WWF champion. I actually researched wrestling schools and was pretty close to attempting it.

I’m not sure what stopped me (money, most likely), but watching this training session made me realize I likely never would have made it to mid-card status on an independent show, let alone the WWF champion.

Chuck Szili — Kage — discusses techniques during a training seminar.

Wrestling is a lot different than when I was in high school, too.

Back then, there was a fine line between giving away “secrets.” Wrestling was still “real.” These days, the majority of wrestling fans realize what it is — entertainment. These are highly athletic people who put on one hell of a show. Whether it’s a 50-minute endurance match or a 5-minute quickie, they entertain.

If what they did was fully real, there’d be many more injuries and, likely, deaths.

Still, when you step foot into these rings, you have to know what you are doing. From taking a bump to delivering basic moves, you are not only working to keep yourself safe, but to also keep your opponent safe. You are also telling a story to the fans in the crowd and giving them the chance to forget the real world for a few hours, taking them on a journey of believability.

Alas, this isn’t a backyard wrestling thing — just like anything else, you have to train to become a professional wrestler.

The harsh reality is probably 99 percent of all these guys who train to wrestle or wrestle on the independent scene won’t ever make it to the WWE, or even TNA. That’s not to say that there’s not a lot of places an indy wrestler could do well — such as Ring of Honor, Chikara or a place like 2CW.

Students work during a training seminar headed by Chuck Szili and Sean Carr.

It depends on what one is looking for.

One of the people at the training session even noted to Carr and Szili that he doesn’t have the goal of getting to the WWE. To that, Szili made sure to point out to give everyone one has at whatever level they are on.

The two made some great points to the students — from noting to have fun to making sure the youngsters stay out of politics and drama.

The best part was watching everything unfold. The students who attended were really focused. They listened and asked questions. They seemed to hang on the words of Carr and Kage. During the workout, they took additional bumps to better techniques. They listened. One guy even took his first hip tosses. Pretty cool to watch.

They told stories of the road — about how promoters can swindle you out of the small payday. Or how some promoters will treat you like gold, no matter who you are. There are the stories on the road — such as Carr missing the birth of his child because he got into an accident on the way home from a show.

The life isn’t glamorous — and it’s something Carr and Szili made sure to show these new wrestlers.

One thing I really saw was how good Szili was with these students. I have no doubt that one day in the future, when the days of in-ring work are over, Szili could have a calling as a trainer. His experience as well as his demeanor in the ring worked really well in this environment.

Partners Kage (orange) and Sean Carr demonstrate the art of pro wrestling to aspiring students at the Back Breakers Training Center in Scranton.

For those who only watch wrestling on television, it’s usually a polished product. The independent scene is anything but. Though you’ll have the chance to see some amazing people, there’s a reason not everybody makes it to the “big leagues.”

That’s what makes it so wonderful, though. It’s not perfect.

And not many people get the opportunity I got with Szili and Carr — having the chance to watch a training session up-close and personal.

The business has changed over the years, that’s for sure. There will always be good and bad people in the business. There will always be good and bad workers, promoters and anything else.

In the end, the business continues. At the lowest levels and at the highest levels. The dreams will always be there, too. To be the next big thing or whatever else. But with wresting — as it is with nearly everything else in life — one needs to be grounded and realistic to truly succeed.

With the way Carr and Szili carried themselves this weekend, it shows why they have been successful in their careers. Hopefully, that will rub off on these newer wrestlers, allowing them to also find success in their careers.

You can see all the photos from this day at this Flickr set.

Submitting as part of Dude Write’s weekly challenge. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Book review: The Following Contest is a Dark Match

As a fan of professional wrestling, most books I find on the market for that genre are real-life accounts from current or former wrestlers. There’s the occasional tell-all book from somebody who used to be in the business, too.

There’s not a ton of fiction about the sport that’s worth reading, however. That is one of the main reasons I am skeptical when I see fictional books on the profession, especially ones without any feedback on places such as Amazon. But it’s also a reason my interest piques, as I like seeing the fictional stories about the profession.

I found The Following Contest is a Dark Match for the Kindle and it was listed at fewer than 120 pages. It had a story that seemed interesting and the 99-cent price made this a perfect Kindle grab.

For the most part, I wasn’t disappointed.

The book is based on the life of Kevin Davidson, a decent, at best, independent wrestler out of North Carolina. He has a beautiful girlfriend who has money and seemingly worships him and he works as this wrestler, trying to make his dream come true. He’s a believable character, especially if you know any independent wrestlers. I know several (who I am working on some writing projects with) and the way author Chris Shore paints the picture is an pretty accurate portrayal of life on the independent circuit.

How is that?

The pay (if any) stinks, the crowds are small and the reality of making it to a place like the WWE is slim, at best.

Shore builds Davidson’s character and soon we realize that Davidson is mediocre at best. So much so that he attempts a move during a match that the promoter had specifically told him not to do. He botches it and nearly kills himself. But from that comes some sort of psychic power. He sees his future and it’s not so great.

The rest of the book helps build things a bit, showing how this lifestyle can explode quickly.

As normal, I don’t want to give away the full story here. So, I’ll let the Amazon page description tell you enough to hopefully get you hooked:

After a fall while wrestling that knocks him unconscious, Kevin awakes to find that he has psychic abilities, including clairvoyance, ESP, and the ability to see the future.

Kevin finds that having these powers can be both a blessing and a curse. As his new powers drag him into a life he never imagined, he must decide to help a young boy whose future is very dark, while trying to reconcile the truth of his first vision: if he continues to wrestle, he will be killed in the ring.

I can say that it was a pretty interesting read. I got through it in about two days and the ending is pretty solid. It also leaves the door open for future books and from reading the author’s website, it sounds like this will be a series of books. Therefore, the beginning of this book will likely eventually make even more sense in future books.

The Good

Shore tells a pretty solid story. Kevin Davidson is a believable and, for the most part, a likable character. You can really connect with him — especially if you know anybody who is a professional wrestler. He wants to make it big, but he’s like so many other independent wrestlers trying to make it — battling a serious uphill climb where the reality of making it big is likely going to end in a slide back down the hill.

The other big characters — his girlfriend Julie, her father, his best friend and his co-wrestler — are all built well. You can see them and feel their emotions. The key in a good book to me is good character building and I think Shore succeeds in that.

The actual story line is different. It’s not something I would normally read. But having that sort of thing differentiates this book from others. Shore does a good job at selling it and the reader can tell there was some care in building this story.

One of the best things I liked about the book was the “wrestling talk.” Using terms like babyface, heel, kayfabe and putting somebody over gives the book the feel of wrestling. Even better, for non-wrestling fans, there’s a glossary to help with the terms. For wrestling fans, I think something like this is better because we don’t have to see terms worked around for the non-fans.

The Bad

As many of you know, one of my pet peeves in books are grammatical and/or spelling errors. The book was pretty clean, but there were three glaring mistakes later in the book that made me cringe.

At one point, there was a “were their” instead of “where their.” The were/where issue happened one more time, that I saw. And then there was a point where a character was saying “hi” or noting it, and it was spelled “high.”

Being that I only paid 99 cents for the book, I wasn’t to the point where I fully flipped. But these are the little things that my eyes always seem to catch.

There were a couple plot spots where I thought things were a little rushed and could have used a little more in detail and explanation. The ending, too, seemed a little rushed. I thought the scene itself could have been played up a little bit more. I like how Shore wrote the actual ending because it gives the reader the chance to think about what happened and make their own conclusions and it also allows that cliffhanger for the next book. But, I thought the events leading into it could have been a little deeper, thus making the ending a bit more punchy.

Overall thoughts

In the end, I enjoyed this book and will look forward to the next installment of the series. The plot is good and I think, for the most part, Shore does a very good job in telling the story. It’s a quick read, too. I like when I get into a book and finish it quickly because it means it’s a topic I enjoy and a story I’m getting into. In total, it took about three to three and a half hours for me to read, but it was a nice read.

If you are a wrestling fan, I’d definitely encourage you to snag this book and give it a read. Though non-wrestling fans might not like it as much, I’d say some still will like it because the characters are strong and the story is good. Give it a try — you never know.

Rating

This book was pretty solid. The spelling mistakes I caught do bother me, but if it’s somebody doing his own publishing, I have a hard time going too nuts about it. I’m sure if I ever finish the books I’m working on and have to go something away from traditional publishing, people will catch an error or two as well. It happens. Still, I always count these things in the ratings. The end result for me with this book was a solid read, with a good story and characters, mixed in with a few holes and errors. I’d rate it somewhere between a 3.5 – 4 out of 5 stars.

On the web

See more about Shore at his website. You can also find him on Twitter.

If you are interested in purchasing The Following Contest is a Dark Match, follow this link.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Notes from my noodle: Aug. 7

My noodle has been speaking lately — and it’s asking why I haven’t written one of these in a while?

My answer? No idea.

So, here it is. For those new to the blog, this is basically a spot where I’ll write about some things that have happened or caught my eye recently, but didn’t really work as its own blog post.

For the first time in a few years, our softball season ended before reaching the league final. We’ve won our league the past two seasons, but this one was a bit of a struggle. Despite a large roster, we had issues getting some people there at times.

No three-peat for us this year.

The problem with that?

We never really had the same lineup or people in the same positions. Though we had a lot of good players, we had to move people around. That makes things hard.

Still, we finished quite strong.

We earned the fourth seed in the playoffs and opened with a 2-games-to-1 series win over the fifth seed. We then took on the top seed, who we beat last year in the final.

In the opener, we played well. Our top pitcher got hurt and I had to finish. We ended up losing, unfortunately, in a game we played really well.

I pitched Game 2 and did as well as I’ve done in a long time. We ended up losing, 5-3.

Though not all their faults, the umpiring we had in these two games was downright awful. It seems like that was a theme for most of the year. Both teams suffered from it, too. The second game really hammered us, though, as we lost three close plays where I think he was dead wrong. He also threw one of our players out of the game for “throwing a bat.” The umpire didn’t even see it. He heard the bat clip the fence on the toss (and it was a toss, I was right next to it). The guy was downright awful and was for most of the year.

Look, bad umpiring is one thing. It’s at all levels. All I ask is to be consistent. If you strike zone is a shoebox, fine. Make it both ways. These things can’t — and shouldn’t — change every inning. But with some umps, they do. And for the money they are being paid, there should be some accountability. The semifinals of the playoffs should have the two best umps, not some of the worst. We got that in our two games and I’m sure the other team will agree.

In the end, it’s all good. We still won 10 games, found some new players for the future and have an idea on how to move forward. I’m sure we’ll be right back in the thick of things next year.

****

When it comes to geocaching, I’ve gone through several phases.

The excitement of being new, the numbers hound, someone who chased first-to-finds to now, where I kind of just dig playing the game and having fun.

One thing I’ve always done, however, is plan when it comes to a bigger trip. This, too, has gone through phases. I used to be an in-depth planner and then it got to the point where I basically wrote down caches in the best order to grab to be efficient.

Every once in a while, though, I go back to the in-depth planning. This upcoming weekend is one of those times.

My current Delorme map — which will hopefully be filled in much more by the end of the weekend!

Four of us are going on an insane trip through the top of New York to fill in squares for the Delorme Challenge. For those who don’t geocache, the Delorme Challenge is based up on the New York  Atlas and Gatetteer, which is published by Delorme. In the atlas, the state is broken down into 80 squares. Your job is to find one cache in each square. Once you do, you get the coordinates to the Delorme final so you can go find that cache. My hope is to make that my 3,000th find, of which I am approaching.

At this moment, I have 63 of 80 pages filled on the Delorme map.

As long as nothing goes wacky, by the time this trip is done sometime Saturday night, I should have filled in 11 more squares and will be a mere trip to the Buffalo area to get six more squares to finish it up.

At the same time, I’ll be getting all the counties I need (sans the Buffalo-area ones) for the New York Counties Challenge.

The three others on the trip will also be filling in squares and counties, but on different levels. Some have more and some have fewer to get. We’ll also be taking a quick trip into Vermont for a few caches.

In the end, I had to go in-depth because with a trip that will eclipse 600 miles and be for more than 12-15 hours, we needed to make it as efficient as possible. We have some good caches on the list and we have a lot of quickies, too. But in the end, it will make for a memorable and fun trip with caching friends. I’ll be blogging more about this next week.

****

Speaking of geocaching, I’ve recently gone on a hiding spree. I archived some of my older caches and decided to place some new ones. Another cacher in a town not far from here has placed a whole heap, too. Hopefully with all of these new caches, some cachers will come our way to make some finds.

One of my recent hides.

See, this area isn’t easily hit by major highways and such. We’re in a rural area, so sometimes people don’t want to come here and find caches. I know one cacher who basically refuses to come to this area because all the roads are winding and such.

Their loss.

On top of the ones I’ve recently placed, I have several more to put out. I just need to find where to place them.

The hides have been fun to do. I like writing the descriptions and I like getting the notices when people find them all. It’s kind of a cool thing to know people are out finding the ones you hid and are enjoying them.

I have two caches, specifically, I need to get out. One is one I got at a cache I found and will be a “spawn” cache and the other is one I received from a fellow cacher when out in Chicago in 2011. These caches are his signature items. He gave me two, so I want to get one placed with the other remaining in my collection of sig items.

Further, I just have some other lock-n-lock containers I want to put out there!

****

As many of you know, I dig attending independent wrestling shows. One, it’s great action and usually better than what you see on television. And when it’s not better, it way worse, which makes it fun that way.

I know how hot it was for three of us to watch this card — I can’t imagine what it was like in the ring performing!

One company we watch often is 2CW, based out of Syracuse. They always put on a great show and this past Friday was no exception.

Except for one thing — it was hot!

The company returned to the Pastime Athletic Club in Syracuse for what seems like it will be the final show at this building, which is affectionately called the “2CW Arena.”

Herein lies the issue — it was hot as can be outside. Inside, which was basically a small gym, had the ring, wrestling, probably 400 fans inside and… no air conditioning.

Holy cow was it hot!

With the action going on, it got hotter as the night went on, too. It easily had to be above 100 inside.

We stayed for the whole card because we wanted to see the main event, which featured former WWE superstar John Morrison against one of the top indy stars, Sami Callihan. The match didn’t disappoint. Overall, the card as per normal, was solid. It was worth going to and watching.

I just wish it had been cooler!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!