Why I am Tired?

I haven't been posting much recently. At this time last year I was at the height of my resurgence in wrestling fandom, having latched onto TNA and the rising company they seemed to be at the time. Since then I have gone a year of watching the wrestling industry from a TNA fan perspective.

I admire what Vince's company does but for me the real wrestling was over at TNA. But then something happened. Shortly after Slammiversary TNA took a direction I haven't been happy with, basically making the show the Kurt Angle hour. I love Kurt but when TNA has such great talent every Impact does not have to be Angle-centric.

Anyway I recently went to a local NWA event here in PA. The guys there put on a fantastic show, utilizing a ring that looked like it could fall apart at any minute. The culmination was when Sure Shot Shawn Reynolds (Better than you since 1982) dove off a ten foot ladder onto a table to cover "Dirty" Don Montoya for the win. These guys have no TV contract. Reynolds is a local police officer by day and does this only for the thrill of the 70 or so people that filled into the hot Salvation Army gym on that night. Now don't get me wrong, I am by no means suggesting that these little Indy guys with limited move sets should be my Thursday night programming but rather that TNA should utilize what it has.

Guys like AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelly, Christopher Daniels and Jay Lethal are all being tragically wasted because TNA management feels they need to spotlight Angle for 90% of the show. I don't tune into Impact to watch Angle sunbathe in his underwear, while talking to his therapist (Kevin Nash). I tune into Impact to watch high Impact wrestling. Yet all I really get is Angle and Joe or Angle and Sting (and I love Sting) over and over each week. It is time for TNA to turn up the product or get out of dodge because frankly I'm just tired of the same old, same old.

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Wrestler Deaths Hit Home

It started innocently enough: a group of stupid kids wanting to emulate their favorite professional wrestling superstars. Thanks largely to the dreams of one local promoter, two of those stupid kids would break out from the pack and become a legitimate force on the Indy Wrestling scene. As a close friend, I was lucky enough to get to travel with them on various road trips and meet a lot of great people. Now, one of those people I met is gone...

The first time I met Devil Bhudakahn was at a CWF show. Typically CWF runs in Monesson, PA. However, on this occasion, they were running at an alternate facility. The main event was scheduled to be the Premiere Players vs. Crusher Hansen and Denny Gregory. The show never started, as attendance was particularly poor that night.

Bhudakahn was very nice to me, as I helped the group tear down the ring. It was quite surprising to me just how nice he was actually, as in instances like that, I quite often felt like an outsider. Devil made me feel that despite the fact that I never would work a match, I was just another one of the boys.

I never got to actually see him work until 10/19/02 when he teamed with Glenn Spectre as the Devil's Advocates to take on J-Ru and Trevor Lowe. This was the infamous incident where I got a little too involved in a CM Punk/Colt Cabana match (which I would love to have on tape or find on Youtube).

I have seen Devil work many times since then, in BDW, CWF, and PWX. Many of my favorite local workers now credit Devil with helping them learn and develop a "cruiserweight style."

The last memorable meeting I recall with him was either at the PWX Anniversary show where Brandon K wrestled Devin Devine or at the PWX show where Daron Smythe took the Heavyweight title from Crusher Hansen. Forgive me for not remembering, but I know it was one of those two instances, because my girlfriend was along for the ride.

After the show, we went to the Gyro, and my girlfriend and I ended up sitting across the table from Devil, and I just remember being astounded at how well he and my girlfriend interacted. He went out of his way to make her feel comfortable at a table full of independent professional wrestlers, and despite their differences in philosophy and theology, managed to be really respectful and hold an intelligent and interesting conversation.

Details about Devil's passing have not been formally released at the time of this writing, but what I can put together from the blogs of my friends it appears to be a suicide, which is very disheartening.

I often have a hard time coming to grips with suicide victims. When someone close to you chooses that they have no other alternative, immediately you wonder why... You think what you might have been able to do if you better understood the situation. I am not saying that I myself was "close" to Devil, but I felt a certain camaraderie with many of the wrestlers I have met over the years.

When someone chooses to end their own life, I have a hard time deciding on how to honor that person. You want to remember your friend for the good person that he or she was, but you don't want to glorify their action, because you wouldn't want anyone else to believe that it's the best alternative. To me, suicide is one of the worst choices you can make, and the worst part of it is, you can never change your mind.

My understanding of Devil's religious beliefs will keep me from expressing mine in reference to his death. No matter who is right or wrong in debates about the existance of God or the way to practice their beliefs, I just hope his soul finds the peace that it was unable to find on this earth. I would encourage anyone who is suffering from depression, which seems to run rampant through the independent wrestlers I have met seek help, either from close friends or from a professional counselor.

It's very sad to see someone feeling so alone, and then finding after they are gone just how many people truly cared and were touched by a person's existance.

"Devil was a standup guy. He was opinionated, but he never offered an opinion in an asshole-ish way. He was a guy you could have a nice debate with, be it about wrestling or anything else. Hell, some of my best memories of him are not wrestling related - running into him at the mall and standing there talking to him for about an hour about his kids and our families. He could rub people the wrong way, but that was just how he was. He didnt pull any punches, but he was a good guy." - Nikita Allenov

"I wasn't as close to Devil as some were. But I was lucky enough to know him, be able to talk to him on many many occasions at shows, and even ride with him to CWF on one occasion. It's amazing to see how many lives he has touched, how many of the younger guys he helped along the way, and it is a testament to how much of a great guy he really was. To say he will be missed is an understatement..." - Jesse the Mark

"Devil is a huge part of me even being in wrestling. For that I could never thank him enough. When I left PWX in September of 06, he was one of few who asked me directly what was going on, how I was doing, etc.. He even, as I found, went to bat for me. He was a standup guy. He was always there to make me laugh..." - B.C. Steele

"While I wasn't as close with Devil as some, I am proud to think of him as and call him a friend. He was always a great guy to have around in the locker room, was always genuinely nice, and had a great sense of humor." - Dash Bennett

Those few meetings outside of the ring with Devil were memorable to me and taught me a great deal. I would have never imagined that he and I would be able to be friends, but he showed me that you can never judge a book by it's cover alone.

I think Devin Devine's words speak volumes:

"Today we had a great local talent taken from us. It is impossible to put into words the pain and anger everyone feels at a time like this. When all we can come up with is more questions that will never be answered, we need to remember that this was what someone thought the solution to their problems was. Devil was a tremendous worker. I always felt he was underrated. He was a great guy to make you laugh and he was an awesome presence to have in the lockerroom. It is hard to find someone who doesn't have a good memory of Devil. We need to keep a hold of that. Instead of asking "Why?" We must move forward. We need to know that Devil's personal problems do not make him any less of a worker, of a person, or any less of a friend.

Times like these make you realize that even those close to you may be having some problem or situation that they do not know how to deal with. We are a fraternity. A brotherhood. We need to look out for one another. We lost one of us today. Let's all take a moment to reflect on a man who gave 100% in every aspect of this business.

Devil, wherever your journey is taking you, good luck, friend."

For your viewing pleasure, here is a 4 way ladder match featuring Devil Bhudakahn, Justin Idol, Jason Gory, and Mantis:

Part 1:


Part 2:
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Wrestling Reporter's Journal

Probably one of the biggest perks of covering this sport is the opportunity to meet some of the young up-and-comers in the sport. Looking at guys like Matt Riviera, Ricky Landell, Jason Static, Eddie Kingston, Thoruf Marius, The Nerdy Boys...ad nauseum, I can see that the future of wrestling is alive and kicking.

I'm reminded of something a young Paul Levesque (Triple-H) once told me a long time ago, even before his oh-so-memorable stint in WCW. "As long as there are kids at home watching the product on Saturday mornings, be it WCW, WWF (WWE), whatever, Hicks, there is always going to be a crop of talented young guys to push wrestling forward."

And how right Trips turned out to be.

I have no doubt at the time that he saw himself as one of those young hungry guns in the industry looking to make a break when the time was right. In that respect, it proves that even the highest of the high once competed in high school gymnasiums and park recreation centers.

Of course, Hunter went on to bigger things than most. He made more than enough of a break for himself, marrying the boss' daughter and essentially inheriting the company upon which all of wrestling tradition is being bestowed.

Not bad for a young Terra Ryzing to aspire. With any luck, all of the autograhed pictures on my wall from guys you've never heard of will be very significant in years to come.

That's all I have for today. Thanks for reading, and be sure to shoot me an e-mail at bradyhicks@gmail.com and I'll throw your comments/questions in an upcoming column. More on This Story...

Have You Seen It?

A few years back, one of my best friends moved away to Texas to pursue a graduate degree in Chemistry. He has only made about two visits back since he's been gone. On one, he made sure that I sat down and watched this little gem. Rather than me tell you about it, I will send you over to the master of talking about crap in professional wrestling, R.D. Reynolds of Wrestlecrap.com.

"Pop quiz, hot shot: name the number one best selling wrestling DVD of all time. Go on, try. I dare you.

Want a hint? Well, it's not the Ric Flair Ultimate Collection, nor is it the Bret Hart set. It wasn't a Wrestlemania release. It doesn't have Hulk Hogan, Rock, Steve Austin, or any other top WWE name. In fact, it wasn't even put out by WWE. Or WCW. Or ECW. Or, for that matter, any other wrestling promotion you have ever possibly have heard of.

Give up? It's a DVD entitled Grand Masters of Wrestling, and you've likely seen it sitting in the $1 bin at the local Wal-Mart. It was an independent release, and while we generally give indies a free pass here at the Crap, we can't this time, as we feel it would be a disservice to the entire wrestling DVD buying public if we didn't warn those folks that even one hundred Lincoln coppers is way, way too much to pay for the pain and agony you will unleash upon your eyeballs and eardrums.

Actually, that's not true. The original Grand Masters is a pile of crap, to be sure, but it's not horribly offensive. Heck, there's even a decent match on there in the form of the opening bout of Ace Darling versus "Dangerous" Devon Storm, who WCW viewers will know as Crowbar. The rest of the disc, featuring the likes of King Kong Bundy versus Jobber of the Week favorite "Iron" Mike Sharpe (who looked to weigh as much as Bundy by this point) was a perfectly acceptable trip down memory lane.

But following the success of the first disc, a second disc was released. No no - scratch that, as "released" is far too kind a word. It was more unleashed upon an unsuspecting world, not unlike the return of polio or perhaps the black plague. Seriously, think of the worst wrestling card you've ever seen. I can state, without hyperbole, that this is at least 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times worse.

The show, as best I can tell, looks to be taped in a grade school gym. I wish I could give you more details, but I've scoured the globe (ok, so I just did a Google search and didn't find anything on the first page - shoot me) and discovered nothing.

One thing I do know, however, is that it appears to be for some type of Jewish festival. I know this, because throughout the disc, various wrestlers put over those of the Jewish faith and there's a guy named the Mighty Maccabee in the main event, fighting for the Maccabiah Heavyweight Championship. I figured this was something very prestigious in the Jewish community, so I contacted my good friend Jeff Cohen, the guy who brought me into the business (yes, you can blame him for all this) to give me some insight on both the man and the belt.

His response?

"Never heard of them."

On with the show!"

Read the rest at:
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From the Vault: Dirk Ciglar Should Be in the Fed?

7/16/02: (The following is one of the first opinion articles I wrote on professional wrestling. It is from 2002 and talks a popular local independent wrestler whom many thought should be wrestling for the WWE or TNA. At the time, local wrestling promoter Jim Miller was acting president of the National Wrestling Alliance and making appearances on their weekly Pay-Per-Views. His wrestlers were working for little to nothing in a building that sweltered in the summer and froze in the winter. The general point was to illustrate that in life and in wrestling nothing is handed to you. Almost 5 years later, CM Punk (who used to make frequent stops in Pittsburgh) made his WrestleMania debut because of his drive, initiative, and extensive travel. In contrast, Pittsburgh indy fans are still waiting for there first breakout star since Shane Douglas.)

I am a fairly popular guy around these parts. I mean, for the most part, my opinions are well respected, and people seem to genuinely see me as a nice guy. I've had some decent conversations in person with some of you, others of you online. I was given a live journal and am occasionally invited into gimmick chat. For the most part, "The Onslaught" is in.

However, there are times when concerns with making people happy have overshadowed my opinions. Well, this Live Journal entry should shatter that. After reading this, you may not like me as much or value what I have to say as much. I honestly do not care. What is to follow my friends, is a shoot...

All I hear all the time is that Dirk Ciglar should be in the fed. Much the same way I am told that Brock Lesnar is the "Next Big Thing", certain times ideas are shoved down your throat to the point where you either accept them, or resent them.

Well, I refuse to accept the notion that Dirk Ciglar should be in the fed. Why, you ask?

Is it that he isn't talented enough? No

Is it that he doesn't have the look? No

Today, while bored at work, I took a gander at the ECWA site. No, not the fake on with Julio and Hamrick. The real fucking deal East Coast Wrestling Association.

I am peering through the roster, and I am like holy shit. This sounds incredible. Then, the more I think about it, I realize that the only members of the roster I have seen are Crowbar, Christopher Daniels, Simon Diamond, Pete Gas, and Low-Ki.

Then I look at names like Abunai, American Dragon, Scoot Andrews, Red, Cheetah Master, Charlie Haas, Prince Nana, and Reckless Youth.

I have never seen one of these guys work ever, but I am told relatively everywhere that these guys are good.

Now, are the writers of PWI, the makers of Promotion Wars, and the writers of Wrestling News Sites attending every damn wrestling show to see first hand that these guys are good? It's doubtful.

I live in Wheeling, West Virginia, one hour away from Pittsburgh, and facts are, I knew who these guys were long before I heard of Jimmy Vegas, Dirk Ciglar, or Brandon K. In many ways that is very sad.

So I wonder, why doesn't Dirk, Brandon, and anyone else who Pittsburgh believes to be fed worthy making headlines in major magazines, on the internet, or even in simple games that wrestling fans are playing? Simple. Lack of good promotion.

I am one who strongly believes that bringing in Nova is not worth the money. It's much more impressive to make your own stars, or find your own indy standouts.

Dirk Ciglar is a very talented individual. Why is he not an indy standout? As much as I have never seen Scoot Andrews, chances are your ECWA fans have not seen Dirk Ciglar. Why haven't they heard about him yet?

What would make Vince McMahon choose Dirk Ciglar over any of the aformentioned ECWA wrestlers.

Pro Wrestling Express has Jimmy Vegas, Dirk Ciglar, Brandon K, Mad Mike, Zubov, The New Freebirds, Paul Atlas, Quinn Magnum and many others who's names should be being talked about and heard in other areas besides McKeesport. I have a cousin in Pittsburgh who is a wrestling fan who has never heard any of these names.

Pro Wrestling Express has a great young up and coming roster consisting of Nikita Allenov, The Premiere Players, Sterling, Devin Devine, and Lance Dayton.

Give me one reason Lance Dayton couldn't be the next AJ Styles.

One big difference between PWX and IWC, is that the wrestlers that Norm actually has that he really cares about, get press. Super Hentai being a good example. If it is believed so strongly that Dirk should be in the fed, why is his name not popping up in the places that Hentai's is?

PWX has an infastructure that seems to feature young vs. young and old vs. old. I think that Lance Dayton should be wrestling Brandon K and getting some much needed experience that could turn him into a standout. Sterling, Justin Idol, Devin Devine need put in there with the guys that can teach them things.

The PWX roster is very heavy right now. Maybe it is time to cut strings with those that haven't shown they have what it takes to be on a PWX show. When you can book a card featuring the young talent PWX has, Atlas, Zubov, Dirk, Brandon, Quinn, Vegas and others, why water down the rest of the card with people that make even the other wrestlers cringe.

Realize every time you are in the back thinking, here comes a shitty match, the fans are thinking that 10 fold. I know a lot of guys were loyal in rough times with PWX, but the roster has gotten so big with APWF, Glenn Spectre, Justin Idol, and Jimmy Vegas all coming in at once.

I wish that if I was a fan in Wheeling, West Virginia, 60 miles from Pittsburgh, I could hear about Axel Law, Nikita, Zubov, Dirk, Brandon, and Vegas in depth the way I hear about the Backseats, Andrews, Abunai, and the American Dragon.

There is no reason right now that PWX shouldn't be beating the shit out of IWC. PWX has an awesome full time roster of PWX guys. They need pushed as if they were names being brought in, marketed as if they were names being brought in. Come see Dirk Ciglar and PWX action.

The loyal fan base of PWX may be good enough for you, but it's not for me. Not anymore. Not when you have a roster like you have now. There is no reason that Looney Lenny, Grimace, Paula Heyman, and that crazy riddlin kid should be the only people who know about these wrestlers.

It is time for PWX to make itself known. For the wrestlers to make themselves known. PWX has all the potential in the world to be what ECWA has become. Yet the only mentions I ever hear are straight results on sites. Dirk Ciglar defeated Crusher Hanson. Not Dirk Ciglar amazed crowds with his aerial skills in a defeat over Crusher Hanson. (I know that sounds kind of lame, but it's trying to make a point). I get mentions of Jim Miller on TNA, and the Hashimoto title win from December 15th.

I think rather than talk about who needs to go to the fed, you should work on who needs to be on TNA. The Jarretts have taken Low-Ki who wrestles occasionally around here. Who is gonna tell Jeff and Jerry about Brandon, Dirk, Jimmy, and the rest???

When it was time to get a tag team, was it Brandon and Dirk or was it York and Matthews? When it was time to get muscle, was it Spellbinder or Vegas?

No offense to Jim, but the wrong man is going down for these TNA tapings. He should at least have a few guys in the car with him.

Should Ciglar be in the fed? Maybe...

Should Ciglar be more than he is right now? Hell yes.

Should PWX be better than what it is right now? Hell yes.

When your talent isn't known within an hour of you, and you are that good, it is a sad state of affairs. Get the word out, or get the f out! More on This Story...