29/02/2024
Got inspired by good brother Wilbur Whitlock and wanted to give some "Last of the Old School" advise for young wrestlers:
"he's a good hand" - Best compliment I ever got paid.
I don't think it's a matter of young guys "coming for our spots" - I just never subscribed to that line of thinking. Back when I started in 1998 there were still some old school Brothers who had that territory mentality, but it's just not like that anymore (Thankfully) - I see more guys trying to help each other out now than ever, which is GREAT for the overall business. More than ever, when one guy gets "signed" the first thing they are doing is saying, "Hey, I know a couple of guys on the indies that would CRUSH it here, too" and that's good for EVERYONE.
For the old guys? Teach the kids that just because you CAN do a Canadian Destroyer on the apron doesn't mean you SHOULD do a Canadian Destroyer on the apron. The in-ring stuff is reaching a bit of a breaking point. One of the biggest lessons I feel newer wrestlers need to understand is that wrestling is.... wait for it... a work. That means... it's not supposed to ACTUALLY kill you. So if you need to get powerbombed through a flaming table to get the crowd to give a s**t about your match - Maybe work on your psychology and character a bit more?
More than anything, I see a lot of young guys that are without any sense of direction and without mentorship and it sucks. Just like any sport, 99% of the indy guys aren't going to make it to the Fed, but that doesn't mean we can't do better to provide the tools needed for that 1% to make it to the next level.
Even in the worst locker room full of mostly "untrained" goofs - There can be the next big star. It's happened before. It will happen again. It's professional wrestling. It fu***ng rules.