Yeah, we all know you are a pill-popping piece of shit...

Sorry guys that it has been so long since my last blog.  Had a lot of great ideas come through from people.  Some of them I have already talked about, so I probably won't get into them again.  Others are good suggestions for future blogs, but I have a lot of other things on my mind right now.  As always, feel free contact me in any of these ways:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/theRockshowErnieBallz
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/ErnieBallz
Email:  ernieballz@hotmail.com

Also, want you guys to know that there is an official Ernie Ballz website coming very soon.  I have been working on one for quite awhile now, and think that I have finally settled on a final design.  The site will have random BS about me, Pro Wrestling: Men in Tights t-shirts, Ernie Ballz t-shirts, and tons of other cool crap.  Keep your eyes peeled for it.  Let's just say that I will get it done when I get it done.  Ha ha.

Today, I want to talk about the assholes, dickheads, douche bags, and all-around pieces of shit in the wrestling business.  In particular, I would like to talk about the drugged-out "veterans" of the wrestling business who feel that everyone owes them something.  Once again, just another example of why "normal people" look at the wrestling business the wrong way.  We are all one big family, and one bad attitude makes everyone else look like shit.

Over the past year, I have had the chance to see both sides of a wrestling show.  The actual "show" part, which I have seen for the past 10 years, as well as now seeing the booking/promoting part of things.  It seems like no matter how hard I try to be professional in the back and try to keep things organized, there is always a handful of "veterans" who don't want to listen or help out at all.  These are the tools bags that need to leave the business altogether.

So I am helping out at a show recently and I let one of the guys know what is going on.  As he reaches into his bag to pop yet another pill (of some sort, not really sure what it was) he basically tells me that he is not going to do what we asked him to.  Okay, well then.  The only thing that I could think to do is go tell the other people involved in his match as well as tell the boss.  Call me a snitch, tattle-tale, whatever you want.  But honestly, when there is an entire show to think about, as well as other people's well-being, I don't really give a shit.  I am going to do whatever needs to be done to get the result that we are looking for.

Don't really want to get into details, let's just say the this sack of shit DID NOT do what he was supposed to.  Everyone else ended up doing what we had to though to get around it.  Which is bullshit.  If you are asked to do something on a show, then fucking do it.  The promoter is the one running the show and paying your sorry ass, so if you want your money, do what you are asked.  I really do not give a shit how long you have been in the business.  It's about respecting the people that are still giving you an opportunity after everyone else has black-balled you from the business.

I am not the one that gets to make the decision on whether or not this guy comes back, but I am hoping he doesn't.  Things can get done a lot easier if he was just not there, and it would open up a spot on the show for a guy that actually cares.  This guy just wants his opportunity to pop pills, and act like people care about him for 15 minutes.  He does not care about anyone but himself, period.

I guess the point of this whole blog is to tell promoters to stop using these kind of guys.  They are losers, probably out of shape, and a shell of what they "used to be."  Yeah, the guy might have been good 10 years ago, but if all he does is pop pills, not listen, and treat everyone like shit, then what is the point of having him on the show?  Like I said, use someone that actually gives a damn.  Someone that will go out there and bust their ass for you.  Someone that appreciates their spot on the show and wants to do their part to help out.  Help give this business a good name again by getting rid of the drugged-out pieces of shit that make us all look bad.  I have said it before, and I will continue to say it as long as I write this blog, the only way that the business is going to change is if we all make it change.  So let's make it change for the better.

Blowing rainbows and sunshine up someone's ass DOES NOT help...

If there is one thing that I have definitely learned from pro wrestling, it is the fact that you have to be able to take constructive-criticism.  Also, if you are the one giving the person advice, remember that blowing rainbows and sunshine up someones ass DOES NOT help.  You need to be able to take the advice, no matter how tough it is to hear it, and make adjustments where they are needed.  Otherwise, it is just a waste of time to ask that person for anything in the first place.

It doesn't matter if you are a promoter, a wrestler, or even the camera guy, you need to be able to take the criticism either way.  There are people who are in charge that know what they want from you, so do what they tell you to.  There are people in the business who have been doing it a hell of a lot longer than you have, so take their advice on things and make yourself better.

I cannot stand it when someone asks me what I thought of their match, then they get pissed off because I tell them the truth.  It's the same shit that everyone else is thinking, it's just no one else has the balls (no pun intended) to say something.  Don't ask me if you don't want to hear the truth.  If I tell you that your match was okay when it really sucked ass, that is doing nothing for you then.  That just makes you think that whatever you just did out there was good and that you know what you are doing, when really, you have no idea what you are doing at all.

This is how you learn in this business.  Be humble, ask advice, take it like a man and make yourself better.  I cannot tell you how many times people ripped me up one end and down the other about stuff.  But the fact that I always took the criticism and that person's advice, made that person respect me a little more or at least see me as a little more of an equal, rather than a dumb kid.

If you sit there while someone is giving you advice and act like an asshole about it, then that person now thinks you are an asshole.  They will tell the promoter, you probably will not come back there again, and now you are labeled as an asshole overall.  Good job, way to get yourself blackballed.

The point is, telling somebody something just to make them feel better is not going to do shit.  Tell them the truth so that they learn from their mistakes.  And if you are the one asking for advice, take it like a man and actually learn from it.

The "black sheep" Hardy cousin who WWE did not sign...wonder why?...

Once again, I want to thank everyone that has been checking out the blog, commenting on it, and sending me ideas.  I actually checked the official stats today for the first time and was blown away by the amount of people that take time out of their lives to read my organized nonsense.  Thinking of getting some shirts made up that will have the PRO WRESTLING: Men in Tights logo on them, then the address to the blog on the back.  Contact me if you are interested in one so that I can get a headcount and sizes together.  As always, you can contact me at:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/TheRockshowErnieBallz
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/ErnieBallz
Email:  ernieballz@hotmail.com

I figured it was about time to post another funny story from shows over the years.  There are so many of them that they kind of come and go in my memory.  For whatever reason, this one popped into my head today and made me laugh, so hopefully it will do the same for all of you.

Pretty sure that this event took place in 2004, which would have been my 2nd year in the business.  I went down to a show in Southern Ohio, Cambridge, OH to be exact.  The building was pretty cool, it was almost like a giant airport hanger that had been turned into a rec center something like that.  I actually just got to wrestle there again about a year ago for Ohio Championship Wrestling (http://www.ocwrestling.net/) and it made me laugh because of this story.

So I drove like 3.5 hours to this shitty-ass show in Cambridge, OH, where the only good part about the show was probably the building and the fact that I got paid before the show.  The crowd was small, I had no idea who any of the guys on the show were, and the promoter was a creep-ball deluxe.  This dude brought in Traci Brooks, ODB, and Christie Ricci (the wrestler, not Casper's friend), and had the three of them get into the ring and basically just play patty-cake for like 30 minutes.  It was not a match, it must have just been some footage for this monkey's spank bank or something.  It was weird either way, and I am sure the girls got paid a shit-ton of money either way.

Anyways, I get introduced to the guy that I am wrestling, and his name is "the Black Sheep" Brian Hardy.  Apparently, he was the long-lost cousin of the Hardy Boyz that the WWE was not interested in at the time.  He was not, but he thought he was.  He tried to put this over the entire day, but I was not buying it.  Let me just paint a picture for you of "the Black Sheep" Brian Hardy.  Imagine a crackhead, with a receding hairline, a bad bleaching job on the hair he has left, Joe Dirt-esc facial hair, a dirty white wife-beater, faded black cargo pants with holes in them, and all of his top teeth rotted away.  I am not shitting you, his top teeth were completely rotted away and his breath smelled like elephant shit covered in sewage.  It's no wonder the WWE was not interested in this, obvious, cousin to the great Matt and Jeff Hardy.  No member of the OMEGA roster would claim this guy.  Joey Abs would not even claim ever knowing this guy, even if he was related to the Hardys.

Having this top-tier opponent, I knew that I needed to bring my A-game to the table.  At the time, I was working a very technical type of style, so I asked "the Black Sheep" if he was any good at chain wrestling at all.  Well, being the pride and joy of Cameron, NC, of course "the Black Sheep" had no idea what chain wrestling even was.  Awesome.  The legendary Brian Hardy then said, and I quote, "I am a fucking Hardy Boy!  Don't you know what we Hardys do?  We fly!"  With this bold statement, I decided that I was just going to beat the shit out of this guy, and have a good time in the process.

I am standing in the back thinking of what I should do during this barn-burner of a match that I am about to have with this future hall-of-famer, and I decide that I am going to cut a promo before my match.  This promo ended up being a turning point in my entire wrestling career, because I found out this night that I was actually REALLY good on the mic.  I went out to the ring and just ripped the entire town apart up one end and down the other.  Well, of course, this helped the magnificent, not at all lying, "Black Sheep" Brian Hardy get an amazing reaction when he walked to the ring like he had a turtle-head poking out.

This is the moment, my match with this amazing competitor had finally began.  The bell rang (which was actually someone slamming a wrench against the ringpost) and Brian Hardy did nothing.  He looked at me like a deer in headlights.  So I speared him, punched him, kicked him, until finally, he gave me a not-at-all shitty excuse for a Twist of Fate, and when up top to hit his ever-famous Swanton Bomb.  "The Black Sheep" tried to jump off the ropes, but ended up falling on his head instead. I rolled him up and pinned him, 1-2-3.  Match of my career people.

Now, Dumbass McGee is laying in the middle of the ring because he landed on his damn head, because he fell off the fucking top rope.  What an idiot.  Matt and Jeff were probably crying in their sleep for weeks over this.  The ambulance finally came and took this stinky, un-coordinated bastard to the emergency room.

I am ready to leave.  It's the end of the show, ODB & Traci Brooks both gave me a kiss on the cheek, I have my money, let's roll.  We are walking around saying goodbye to everyone, and what do you know, like a heroic knight in slightly dirty, smelly-ass armor, here comes the great Brian Hardy walking back into the building.  The guy does not even hesitate, he comes after me and attacks me in front of whatever crowd is left in there.  I thought he was joking around at first, but apparently he blamed me for making him fall off the top rope for some reason.  Basically, I popped the guy a couple times, pushed him down, and got the fuck out of Dodge.

Never worked for the place ever again.  Never saw the "Black Sheep" of the Hardy family ever again.  All I know is, I cannot wait for the Hardy Boyz to get inducted into the Hall-of-Fame, because I bet good-ole' Vince already has it booked for the "Black Sheep" to be right there with Matt and Jeff when they are.

Working out helps more than you think...

I am not the most physically fit pro wrestler out there today, but I still work out 4-5 times a week to keep myself where I need to be.  For the past month, I have had somewhat of an awakening or realization when it comes to getting into better shape.  I really just looked at some pictures from this past New Year's Eve and saw how much weight I have gained and told myself that this is not how I want to live my life anymore.

When I first started wrestling in 2002, I was 230 lbs and only had a little bit of muscle on me.  I am 6 ft. 2 in. tall, so 230 is not bad at all for that height.  Over the years, I have struggled with trying to put muscle on, but also take weight off.  In 2009, I broke my left ankle and needed to have surgery on it.  The time off from my ankle sucked ass.  I put on so much weight, that I actually got all the way up to 285 lbs.  This was the heaviest I have ever been.  In recent months, I have sat around 265-270 lbs., but it is still way too heavy for me.

Coming back from the ankle injury was probably the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in wrestling.  Not only was it tasking physically, but many of the promoters who were using me before the injury kind of just forgot about me and put someone else into that spot.  I still feel that this injury was a contributing factor as to why I do not wrestle for many of these places anymore, but I have realized lately that a lot of it probably had to do with my weight as well.

Seeing the pictures of myself and what I have looked like the past few years, it disgusts me now.  One of my only goals left in this business is to be a top guy in certain promotions, and I know that I cannot do that looking the way that I did.  I really do not care if I ever work for WWE or TNA.  I have done the extra thing at WWE and it was not my cup of tea personally.  The only way that I am going to become a top guy in the places that I currently wrestle for is by getting into shape, working on my in-ring skills more and more, and setting an example of how someone should carry themself and how they should work in the ring.

Over the past month, I have lost 15 lbs and feel great.  I am down to about 250, but it is still not enough.  230 is my goal, but I am honestly shooting for like 225-220.  I am not really that worried about the actual weight itself, it is more about just how I feel overall I guess.

The only things that I have really changed is what I eat.  Before, I would go to the gas station everyday to get a coffee and some sort of nasty-ass breakfast sandwich.  Now, I make a protein shake first thing in the morning to speed up my metabolism and make my own coffee at home.  My mid-afternoon snack before would be 2 hotdogs from the place down the road, but now I try to eat something better, like beef jerkey, nuts, or fruit.  I still go out to eat every now and then, but I have just tried to pick something a little bit better for me to eat instead.  Usually, I will let myself eat Taco Bell whenever I have show also, but that is only about twice a month right now.

So the next step is to cut out the rest of the shit and take things to the next level.  I would like to start getting up around 6 in the morning to either lift or do yoga, on top of doing 60 minutes of cardio at night.  My biggest issue overall is the fact that I CANNOT get up early in the morning.  I have tried EVERYTHING to get up.  I have gone to bed at 9, I have tried sleeping pills, and nothing works.  I'm just going to keep at it and hopefully I eventually fall into the rhythm.

It took me until about my third year in the business to realize how important working out is.  I started with mostly guys that I had never touched a weight or a treadmill in their entire life, so it was not something that was taught to me or anything like that.  I eventually just started to feel like shit and that my body was hurting 24/7.  So I started working out a little here and there and it felt great.  I worked out VERY hard during high school, but I think I just got burnt out on it and that is why I did not do it much when I started wrestling.

Over the years, I have figured out what type of workout are important to being a pro wrestler and have started to focus on them more.  Currently, I am trying to get into Yoga more and more, but I have been doing a very basic workout with resistance bands on top of 60 minutes of cardio 3 nights a week.

Yoga is something that I always thought was for girls, until I tried it.  Holy shit!  It is hard!  Honestly, I think Yoga is the single best thing that any wrestler can do for themselves.  It stretches you to no end and somewhat aligns your back and shit as well.  Anytime that I do yoga, I feel like a million bucks the next day.

The basic workout that I do right now is because I do not really need much more size put on, I just need to cut up.  I start out by just stretching out really good and do some random stuff for getting my heart rate up.  The workout itself is a very basic, full-body workout.  I do pushups, situps, hindu squats, then use resistance bands for everything else.  Super easy, but also effective.  The reason that I am doing this workout is just to do something while I try to cut down.  Once I get to the point that I want to be at, I plan on getting back into the gym and actually lifting weights again.  I really do love lifting, I just do not have the time to most days.

Cardio is something that I feel everyone needs to work their way up to a certain point.  If you are just starting out, then only do like 15-20 minutes or something like that for about 2 weeks, then bump it up to 30-40 minutes after that.  Continue to do this until you reach 60 minutes.  I highly recommend the elliptical, just because it won't screw up your knees like a treadmill will.  Matt Mason (wrestler from OH) also gave me the advice to switch up your cardio here and there, and it has really helped out a lot.  I will do like 20 minutes on one thing, 20 minutes on another, then the last 20 on something else.  It keeps you body guessing at what is coming next.

I guess the point of this entire blog is to let everyone know that if you are in the wrestling business, working out is the biggest part of it.  Your body is everything; not only for looks, but for flexibility and whatnot as well.  If your body feels like shit, then you are going to wrestle like shit.  Take my story for example.  I felt like shit in the ring when I was overweight, but now I am starting to feel good again.  Your body is your main tool in wrestling, so make sure it is at a level that will work best for you.

What is wrong with wrestling?...

First off, note to self:  DO NOT hit the ESC key on accident when typing a blog.  This is the same thing that I did during my last blog and I lost all of it and had to write it all over again.  I had this one completely done and once again, lost it.  So I will give it another shot here.

I wanted to start by thanking everyone who has been reading the blog and passing it along, I really appreciate the support.  I also want to thank everyone who has sent me ideas of things to talk about.  Feel free to contact me at www.facebook.com/TheRockshowErnieBallz , www.twitter.com/ErnieBallz , or ernieballz@hotmail.com .  Today's post is actually going to be one of these topics sent to me by an anonymous source.  The person did not leave their name at all, but the topic is a good one, so thank you.

The topic that was given to me is "why do you feel that pro wrestling is not as popular as it once was?"  This is a pretty broad question, but I am going to do my best to give my opinion on it.  Obviously, WWE is the monopoly of pro wrestling, but I feel that with the right business decisions, ROH could be a big contender eventually.  TNA is a lost-cause in my opinion and I will talk about that.

So, wrestling hit it's boom in the Attitude era when the Monday Night War was going on.  The reason why is because WCW pushed the envelope and forced WWE to do the same.  It was a constant question of "what will happen next?"  THAT is why wrestling was so popular then.  It was exciting and something new every week.  People were jumping from WWE to WCW, ECW was the land of misfit toys that people wanted to get behind.  It was amazing, but is something that will NEVER be duplicated in my opinion.

Let's talk about some of the problems with the business currently though.  WWE definitely has a monopoly over the entire business of pro wrestling.  They bought out all of their competition in 2001, which was probably to dumbest move they could have ever made.  Without competition, there is no alternative, which means that there is no one else pushing your company to be better.  That's why wrestling went down the crapper from the longest time.

WWE's main 2 issues are the fact that everything is about merchandising and money, and that they hold down younger talent.  I am sorry, but maybe you should spend more time accentuating the second W in your name, which stands for WRESTLING, rather than selling multi-colored wristbands to 10 year old children.  I understand it, I really do, but it is wrestling, so do some for a change.  I think that they are starting to with people like Punk, Danielson, and Ziggler, but I think they need to pick it up company-wide.

My second issue with WWE is that they hold back a lot of their younger talent.  There are tons of AMAZING talents that are either currently in development, or have been down there in the past, that should be given opportunities.  It almost seems to me like they are afraid to bring these guys up to the main roster because they think that they are going to fail or something.  Here's an idea, if a guy sucks, FIRE HIM!!!  There are guys on that roster that are hella-nice people, but they are dumb as a box of rocks.  If they don't know what they are doing, then get rid of them and hire someone else to a development deal that actually deserves to be there.  I can think of countless people off of the top of my head that should be in development right now.  Chris Hero, Sami Callihan, Roderick Strong, the list could go on and on.  These dumbass guys that don't know anything about the business get put onto TV and take away spots from guys that really know what they are doing and would be 10 times as entertaining.

There are guys that have sat in development for years and were never really given a chance at all.  There are guys donw there right now that I do not understand why they are not on TV.  I have an ongoing discussion with many people about how WWE guys have no idea what to do other than what they are told to do.  What are we going to do 20 years down the road?  Who are going to be the top guys?  Who are going to be the road agents that help the younger talent?  Half of these guys now don't know what the hell they are doing.  Give the younger guys that have been on the indies a chance.  In the long-run, I feel it will help the business overall.

That's as far as I am going with WWE.  They are the top of the heap for a reason, I just feel that there are little changes that could make it that much better.  Let's talk about the train wreck that is TNA/Impact Wrestling.  TNA is like the dog in the movie UP...they will be doing their thing, then all of a sudden...SQUIRREL!!!  It's like A.D.D. Wrestling.  One thing will be going on, then the next week it all changes.  Generation ME/The Young Bucks are a perfect example of this.  They starting off tagging with each other, then they turned on each other, then they were fighting, then they were back together like nothing ever happened.  Makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever.

I also feel like TNA has the WCW Handbook to Booking in their back pocket.  "Let's bring in all of these old bastards that no one cares about anymore, and build our entire company around them."  I can understand using people like RVD, Jeff Hardy, Ken Anderson, because all of these guys can still wrestle and have something to offer to the company.  Sting as a GM?  Mostly drunk Ric Flair?  Hogan in Affliction-esc shirts?  Really?  They are paying these "legends" a shit-ton of money to do nothing but show up on TV.  Sting just comes out dressed like a jackass saying "it's showtime" and "I'm the boss."  Well I am sorry Stinger, but Tony Danza is the boss.  Flair comes out half drunk and just shouts nonsense.  Hogan comes out dressed like a 21 year old Jersey Shore cast member and just says "brother" 20 times a night.  I often think of what kids think of Hogan.  They were not around for him when he was a big deal.  They probably see him and say "Mommy, it's that guy from the Rent-A-Center commercials who is on that other show with the midgets!"  No one cares about either of these guys.  Can you imagine the amount of money that TNA could save by getting rid of them?  Ridiculous.

Other than using guys from the retirement home on their shows, TNA has two other things that have completely ruined their product over the years.  The two dumbest things that TNA ever did was 1.) getting rid of the 6-sided ring, and 2.) not focusing on the X-Division.  These are the 2 things that made TNA different than any other wrestling product on the market and they just got rid of it.  Why would you do this?  If you are a sandwich maker and you have a sandwich that no one else can make quite the same way as you do, why would you take it off your menu?  Stupidity, that's why.  TNA brought in Hogan and Bischoff thinking that they were going to be able to do something for the company.  The first decision they made was to get rid of the 6-sided ring, change the name of the company, and make their entire set look like Smackdown.  WTF?  So let me get this straight...you are going to take everything that has established this company, hit the reset button and just start all over again?  Ok.  Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

TNA is just a mess overall, I could go for hours about them.  Let's move onto ROH.  Personally, I feel ROH is going to be the next big thing.  They have a great show, that is the perfect mix of wrestling and entertainment.  ROH's main downfall is that they are not on a good network.  HDNET was not picked up by normal cable companies, so no one saw the show.  This Sinclair crap that they are on right now only gets picked up in certain areas also.  I am in Cleveland, OH and we do not even get it here.  ROH needs to just keep their noses to the grindstone, find ways to make money, and take opportunities ASAP.  I really do feel that ROH is a better product than TNA overall and feel that they could really do something.  The problem that they have begun to run into is that some of the talent has moved onto WWE and TNA, mainly because they are going to get more exposure and money there.  If ROH can find that perfect mix, they will be a major threat.

So that's it.  I think the overall point is that wrestling needs to be about wrestling.  There has to be an entertainment factor there as well, but I think that the wrestling is the most important part.  Younger talent needs to step up to the plate and start showcasing themselves more.  Whether these talents are signed or not, it doesn't matter.  It's all about getting yourself out there and showing what you can do.

I you can't do it, then don't do it...

I like to think that most of these posts kind of build off of each other and tell one big story overall.  This post came to mind because of various different reasons and I decided it was time to get this out there.  Let's just say that the theme here is "don't let personal crap mess with your business."

I don't care which side of the coin you fall on, whether you are a promoter or a wrestler.  You should never let your personal crap mess with your business.  The biggest problem when it comes to the wrestling business is that most people don't treat it like a business.  I have already talked about this issue though, so we are not going to get into that much.

The problem is, the wrong types of people get into the business on both ends.  You have Scuzzy Joe the Landlord that all of a sudden wants to play promoter, and of course, you have the ever-so-famous Jimmy Dipshit from the Seven Eleven who wants to play wrestler.  I am not saying that you cannot treat wrestling as a hobby, but please treat it as a business either way.  Whether you are the Chris Hero or Colt Cabana type that makes money primarily off of wrestling, or you are the, well, "the Rockshow" Ernie Ballz (me) type that mainly just wrestles a few times a month.  Either way, there is a potential to make money, which classifies a business relationship.  I am just saying enforcing what I have already said before, which is that there are people in this business ruining it for everyone.

If you have convictions from previous crimes, then stay away.  If you do not have any money and want to promote shows but don't know how to actually make money, then stay away.  If you "kind of" want to wrestle but have no athletic ability, STAY AWAY!!!  One bad egg makes the whole bunch look like shit.  Some of you may be saying, "well, if I get gear..." or "well, if I can get a sponsor..."  You think that there are other things that can make you look good or look professional.  I always remember hearing the phrase, "you can paint a turd gold, but it's still a turd either way."  That's what you are, a turd.  A turd in the punch bowl that is pro wrestling.  You make the rest of us look bad.

For example, let's look at the promoting end of things.  Let's say that there is a building that a good promotion wants to run to try to bring in some new fans and branch out a little bit.  The problem is that there are a few other places that have run this town/building and their shows sucked ass, their talent looked like shit, and they left a bad taste in the fans and the owner of the building's mouth for wrestling as a whole.  These shitbag promotions just ruined this town for anyone else that wants to come there, or even near there.  They pissed the building owner off to the point that wrestling will probably never be allowed back there again.

The wrestling side of things is just as good.  Let's say that there is a guy that wrestles from OH who gets booked by a promoter in Philly.  This wrestler talks himself up to the promoter, name-dropping, and saying he is the best thing since Sliced Bread #2.  Now this shitty wrestler goes and wrestles the show, looks like total crap, is not entertaining, and ends up hurting one of the guys he wrestled.  The promoter is now going to say, "that is the last F'n time that we use ANYONE from OH!!!"  So now, this dumbass just ruined the chance for any wrestlers from OH to wrestle for this promoter in Philly.  Eventually, yes, the promoter will probably start using OH talent again, but it is going to be a long time until that happens.

My point here is, if you are told how the wrestling business is and you KNOW that you do not fit that mold, then PLEASE JUST STAY AWAY!!!  It is how it is, and that probably will never change.  So if you are sitting around thinking that something is going to happen, but in the back of your mind you KNOW it won't, find another hobby.  Walk away while you still can.

Personal issues should never effect any type of business.  So if you are that guy that has so many skeletons in the closet that are just waiting to come out and destroy you, then stay away from wrestling.  YOUR personal issues WILL eventually come out, they will make YOU look bad, which will in-turn make EVERYONE in the wrestling business look bad.  We are all in this together.  It is ALL OF OUR JOBS to present this business a certain way.  If you know that someone does not belong here, then speak up or do something about it.  The longer these pieces of crap are in OUR business, the crappier we are ALL going to look.

It's a business, treat it that way...

I only write these blogs when I feel that I actually have something to talk about.  Rather than coming on here and forcing myself to type some bullshit, I want to have a point or tell a good story.  I have gone on record saying that my last post was probably my best one yet, but I think that this one is going to be pretty good as well.

There is a term that many wrestlers say which is, "I'm in the business."  Really?  Are you?  Because there are plenty of shitbag wrestlers and promoters out there that say that they are in the "business," but do not know the first thing about running a business.

Each and every one of us are small business owners when it comes to wrestling.  If you are a promoter, then you have a service that you are selling, which is a wrestling show.  If you are a wrestler, then you are your own product and need to find the right strategy to market yourself to promoters and fans.  Either way, it is YOUR job to make sure that you know what the hell you are doing and talking about in order to run YOUR business the right way.

Wrestlers, you need to know how to market yourself, not only to the fans, but to everyone in the business as well.  The more you know, the better you are, the better you are, the easier it is to get booked, the easier it is to get booked, the better chance to you have to present yourself to the fans, who will then buy your shit.  Take Colt Cabana for example.  This guy has always supplemented his income by having shirts, headbands, buttons, posters, DVD's, and whatever other stuff fans will buy.  Now, he runs an AMAZING podcast called The Art of Wrestling, where he not only gets the word out on himself, his show dates, and his products, but he also puts over the business of pro wrestling as a whole.  Colt has turned himself into a media empire in order to make a full-time living as a pro wrestler.

Promoters, you need to start finding ways to make money at your shows, PERIOD!  All wrestling shows are different, the crowds are different, the style is different.  The key is to hide your negatives, showcase your positives, and market your business accordingly.  The first step is to figure out ways to get people into your shows.  I have said it before, once you get the people in there, just let the wrestling and overall entertainment speak for itself after that.  Then, eventually you can start making DVD's, shirts, and whatever else to sell to this fanbase that you have built up to make more money.  It does not all come at one time though, you need to get a plan together, take small steps to better your company, and stick to it.  It may be a year later, or it might be your next show, but the growth will come.

You also need to take care of your talent as well.  Spend some money to have at least water and some kind of food in the back.  For example, I have wrestled at W.A.R. Wrestling (Wrestling And Respect) in Lima, OH for years.  Ever since I began going down there, they have ALWAYS had food and water in the back for the wrestlers.  They have an entire catering company come in with food for their guys, it's AMAZING.  If you know anything about business, then you know it is all about connections and networking yourself.  That is what W.A.R. has done.  They have connections for the food.  Monster Energy is one of their sponsors now, so there is free Monster in the back for the guys.  They have even worked out sponsorship arrangements with hotels in the area for their talent to get free rooms.  THIS is how you take care of your talent.  It is not about spending a shit-ton of money on this type of stuff, it's about working out some sort of arrangement where you can put over their company at the show or make them a sponsor or something like that.  Start thinking OUTSIDE OF THE BOX for a change.

The issue in this business are these promoters and wrestlers that do not know what the hell they are doing in or out of the ring.  Wrestlers who are "self-trained" and look like Jimmy Dipshit from the Seven Eleven.  These guys have no idea what they are doing, so why are promoters booking them?  Money.  That's why.  These shitty promoters who don't want to pay a dime for anything put these yard-tards on their shows because they will wrestle for free.  Let me ask the promoters something...how is having these guys on your shows helping you at all?  You cannot tell me that Jimmy Dipshit is drawing people into the shows.  You cannot tell me that this guy is making you money.  SO TAKE THESE GUYS OFF OF YOUR SHOWS AND PAY FOR REAL TALENT!!!  These kind of promoters are the people ruining the business of professional wrestling.  Giving these guys the OPPORTUNITY to be on your show makes all of the other yard-tards feel that it is okay to get into the business this way, which IT IS NOT!!!

Let me just put it this way...promoters, if you do not have the money to pay for REAL TALENT to wrestle on your shows, then DON'T RUN ANYMORE.  Do everyone in the business a favor and just stop.  Because this is a business, treat it that way.  If you can't or do not know how to run a business, then go find something that you do know how to do and STOP RUINING PRO WRESTLING!!!