Artist Rob Schamberger gets inspiration from Becky Lynch's straight-fire war cry. 

T-Mac and Captain Awesome discuss the week of wrestling, and the challenge to bait T-Mac out of battle rap retirement continues. 



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Captain Awesome and T-Mac were backstage at the NWL KC show once again to bring you the hard-hitting interviews you've come to know and love.



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by Trent Anderson
twitter.com/grapple_this
facebook.com/goldenageofwrestling

Not since Vince McMahon tore back the curtain on the sport as a means of sidestepping athletic commissions, and the regulations that would be implemented through which, has wrestling been considered anything more than a grand show full of fanfare and fractured fans. The fallout from which has been minimal from a business standpoint as Network buys have hit the 1.5 million mark, but as is the way with the WWE, where Vince's hubris leads him, destruction is soon to follow.

Right now Japanese, Mexican, and UK based wrestling each are experiencing a much needed renaissance while American based wrestling continues to wane both in ratings and ticket sales. As a means of rectifying the situation, the WWE has branched out into markets that perhaps they dare not venture. Examples of which would be the new cruiser weight division '205 live,' a soon to be named UK based show, and an upcoming woman’s tournament in the same vain as the UK tournament which was moderately successful.

There are a variety of reasons as to why such ventures will fail, but at the center of these is over saturation. Where a year ago the WWE network was scrambling to create new content to increase the network buys, it now has too much content and not enough staffing to consistently contend with, which leavs fans of each sub-genre within the sport disenchanted. Granted, this is uncharted waters, where no one has complete foresight on the direction or the pitfalls that will arise, as the WWE struggles to maintain its global dominance. That alone, however, doesn't grant Vince free license in further watering down a sport that he has a monopoly over.

No, the sands are shifting as both New Japan Pro Wrestling and World of Sports are building to compete internationally. NJPW is looking to begin tours abroad with extended tours in the United States over the next couple years where Sky Sport is working to create a basic cable show featuring local talents that fans will be able to watch for free rather than having to pay ten dollars a month for the WWE Network. Both of which has left Vince scrambling to keep his hand in the proverbial cookie jar with such new content. However, where the WWE was late to the table in trying to capture the upsurge in British based wrestling, or that of the ever growing Indy scene, Vince McMahon had to fend for whatever leftovers he could slap a developmental contract on.

The big gets for the WWE are clearly those fleeing from the sinking ship that is TNA, and then also Nigel McGuinness, but otherwise the talent remains very green, lacking charisma, all the while leaving Smackdown, rather than NXT, to be the post graduate schooling for those that have completed Wrestling 101. And both Smackdown and NXT have far more shades of the indies than the traditional WWE style of wrestling that has further sent non millennial fans elsewhere for their particular wrestling fix.

Less is always more when applying wrestling's trade craft. One of the most recent examples of which could be garnered from NXT Takeover San Antonio. It had all the trappings of a Ring of Honor show but with a larger production budget. Most of the matches where spot fests leaving a forgettable response from its diehard counter culture fans. It wasn't until the main event that fans were treated to a classic match featuring two shining stars -- Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura -- in a traditional heel versus face fight. It was everything that a wrestling match should be -- featuring great psychology, good pacing, and all the trade craft that one would expect to illicit a visceral response from the crowd.

There was no need for a lot of high spots where both competitors knew how to gauge the raucous crowd, draw them into the story that they wanted to tell, and sell the believability of a full on fight. But as the match began, without a word being said, you instinctively knew who was the good guy and who wasn't. There was no need for a video package setting up the fight, nor a back story leading up to the here and now. No, this was a fight for the NXT championship by two athletes that were diametrically opposed in culture, in styles, and every other way imaginable. And this was achieved simply enough by utilizing the time honored traditions and trade craft that has worked for over a hundred years.

Arguably, two of the best in-ring workers in the modern age are John Cena and Roman Reigns. Both of whom are consistently booed by supposed smart fans who wouldn't know a great wrestling match, or the very machinations that makes one such because they grew up within the sport after the territorial days. Such a fact is regrettable, but forgivable nevertheless where the culture has strayed so far, and has since adopted this Indy scene mentality that spot fests equal paychecks.

Because of which, 205 Live has failed in its efforts thus far to appeal to a ready made fan base. The reasons for which are varied –

Issues for WWE's Cruiser weight Division that will ultimate lead to the same painful end as the Light Heavyweight Division during the Monday Night Wars are man, but lets address the top three:

1. No recognizable top guys (face or heel) to build the franchise around. Austin Aries, having been cleared to wrestle recently, has yet to do anything more than announcing. But once he returns to the ring, he would fill that top heel spot, potentially carrying the title for awhile, thus lending credibility to the division. The question remains who can step into that top baby face spot … Jack Gallagher? For all of his antics, the show needs credibility and not campiness.
2. To date, everything on 205 Live is a carbon copy of what you would either see on Smackdown or Raw – conventional, plodding in ring work by athletes that aren't necessarily ready for prime time. 205 Live should be its own thing .. in brand and in production values, but it hasn't achieved that mark. If anything, 205 Live should have the look, the feel, and the grit of a Ring Of Honor show because ultimately that's the type of niche wrestling crowd that you are wanting to appeal to with this gimmick.
3. Perception is everything, and 205 Live lacks it in glaringly unimpressive ways. The bulk of the roster fall well short of the 205 mark which, combined with the aforementioned issues surrounding this failed venture, lowers the ceiling on how far this show can go from this point forward.
   If the WWE were serious about making 205 Live a legitimate presence on the Network, and something that would appeal to a niche audience – Progress, Lucha Underground, Chikara – it has get those stars like Ricochet, Osprey, Rey Mysterio, that can shoulder this tumultuous burden long enough to groom the rest of the roster as NXT has done. Until the WWE makes this transition, 205 Live has no longevity nor appeal … niche or otherwise.

Our good friend Rob Schamberger hits another homerun with this painting of the Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels.

Make sure to check out Rob's artwork at his website and Shop WWE and you can own some awesome artwork of your own!

by Trent Anderson
twitter.com/grapple_this
facebook.com/goldenageofwrestling

For months the WWE has slow burned animosity between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens only for it to end in a brutal beat down during this past Monday Night Raw with the inference that Triple H ordered it. Did the WWE pop this cork too soon or does it suggest something more coming out of Mania where and when Mania has always served as that great reset button?

Kevin Owens is slated to face Bill Goldberg at FastLane for the Universal title. Because of the beat down on Jericho this past week, Jericho will no doubt interfere in the match costing Owens to lose the title. From this we can speculate with some certainty that Goldberg will drop the title to Lesnar at Wrestlemania where it is highly rumored Goldberg will be taking time off after the the grand daddy of all pay-per-views. Now here is where it gets interesting, with Lesnar all but retired from MMA fighting at this point, and slated to work some house shows, does this suggest that he will play a more proactive role, or will his here-today-gone-tomorrow limited schedule remain in tact?

With so much speculation surrounding Wrestlemania at this point, it baffles me as to why the WWE would prematurely pop the cork on such a strong angle between Jericho and Kevin Owens. For as good as the inevitable conclusion was, the WWE would have been better served to cook this one a bit longer, perhaps until the Raw after FastLane. Ultimately, it comes down to how much money you are willing to leave on the table at this point. As suggested, Owens is going to drop the title to Goldberg at FastLane. This is going to relegate the Owens versus Jericho fight to a midcard U.S. Title shot. At best, this has the potential to be that Savage versus Steamboat show stealing match. At worse, what should have been a one shot 'title for title' fight hearkening back to Jericho becoming the first ever undisputed champion, has had the thunder stolen from such a potentially epic match with all the implications and historical homages therein.

What I surmise moving forward are a series of run-ins and backstage brawls in true McMahon fashion going into and coming out of FastLane between the former best friends. But is this paint-by-numbers archetype necessary to generate more buzz, or even more heat than what has already been established? I would suggest that it isn't necessary, and has all the potential of over saturating what has been a money maker up to this point. The old adage 'less is more' reigns true in sports entertainment as it did back during the territorial days. I fear that this angle will become over produced and predictable with no great payoff going into Mania.

Lastly, the implications of Owens putting Goldberg over at FastLane, and then Jericho over at Mania, leaves him in a precarious position as the WWE continues to hot potato all the major titles. With Goldberg leaving, and Reigns making that long overdue heel turn, who or what angle do you put Owens in? Do you relegate him to Smackdown, or do you shove him to the midcard where the push he was given as the Universal champion is further squandered? There seems to be far more questions than answers at this juncture in the Road To Wrestlemania. And perhaps that is how it should be. But what I wonder is whether this austere road is a path to nowhere, or can creative find the direction it needs with the top guys leading out of the grand daddy of them all? Time will tell.

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Captain Awesome and T-Mac interview Ryan Loco about his new project called the Two Way Dance Podcast, designed to help ECW stars with things like medical bills.

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Captain Awesome an T-Mac discuss all the biggest news, results, and rumors in the world of professional wrestling.

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Captain Awesome and T-Mac bring you another Fight KC special highlighting some of the biggest and most shocking moments from the NWL KC show this past Saturday.

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Captain Awesome and T-Mac have been putting their Journalism degrees to good use at the NWL KC shows every other Saturday night. 



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