WWE's UK tour imminent

World Wrestling Entertainment makes its first stop in Britain on April 17th and I for one cannot wait.

The reason for this is that I am very forunate to be going to see the televised episode of Raw at the O2 Arena in London three days later.

I prefere to go to the televised shows as I think that the wrestlers want and need to perform at their best. Whereas at the standard 'Wrestlemania Revenge Tour' events they can get away with putting 70% effort in as only the crowd in the arena will see it.

My other gripe about the Revenge Tour is that it features the same matches each night so I would presume that it must be rather tedious for the wrestlers to do the same moves with the same finishes for nine evenings.

The main event for Raw has been announced and to be honest I'm not overly excited about it. It is a tag team which features John Cena and Triple H taking on Edge and Randy Orton.

I always think putting a meaningless tag team match as the main event is a cheap way of getting the four biggest names out all at once in the same ring. Perhaps this is a 'can't lose' for television ratings but I'd much rather see a match with something riding on it.

For instance a world title match involving two of those four would be far more suitable. I'm not asking for a title to change hands but an entertainining contest with a few nervous moments for the champion would have the crowd gripped.

Raw ends with Triple H beaten to a pulp

The last episode of Raw had a truly electric ending which really intensifies the rivalry between Triple H and Randy Orton.

The segment made me cast my mind back to the days where Triple H seemed to beat someone to a bloody pulp virtually every week with a sledgehammer.

Now his role has been reversed which has made for some very interesting viewing.

Clearly the WWE want to make Orton into a massive star and this is certain to happen as he plays his twisted angry character brilliantly. Using Triple H to achieve this goal is a perfect decision by the creative team as they have been able to bring his wife into the picture.

Hurting your opponents wife as Orton did is without question the best way to generate massive heat from the crowd as seen many times over the years. To make things even more outrageous he then kissed Stephanie when she was 'knocked out'.

Every WWE fan would have been shocked by what they saw and there is no better way to get people talking than to show such disturbing scenes.

I would go as far to say that Orton is potentially a more effective heel than Triple H was when he was leading the company. I know this is a big call but Orton is simply on fire at the moment and the writers must be credited for how the angle has been put together.

My favourite wrestlers :: Shawn Michaels

In my opinion Shawn Michaels is the most charismatic wrestler I have ever seen.

I have watched him since he entered the WWE in a tag team called The Rockers and have witnessed his rise to the top of the company.

In his hey day he appealed to just about everyone in the crowd. Men wanted to be like him, women fancied him and children idolised him. When I went to see WWE live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1994 I badgered my parents into purchasing the Michaels clip on earrings which I got most use out of!

I also distinctly remember saying to my Mum after the show that I was going to have a hairy chest like Shawn when I was older.

Now aged 43, it is no surprise that we still see him on our television screens given his massive popularity and marketing potential.

He has kept himself in fantastic shape and although he is starting to look old now, his showman personality is still there wanting to work the crowd and work some amazing matches.

His entrance is one of the most memorable in the business particularly as he has never changed his theme music which he sang himself. You would think singing your own music couldn't possibly be effective or cool however he pulled it off so well that the song has been used throughout all his career.

Watch one of his best entrances below.


I think anyone would agree with me that Michaels was at his best as a heel in the early and mid nineties. His cocky brash style is what I and every current WWE fan want to see again however it doesn't look like this will happen.

We saw glimpses of this character return in 2005 when Raw was being held in Montreal and the hate from the crowd was still so evident even though the screw job happened in 1997. Virtually every word he said was mercilessly booed and can be viewed below.


Michaels was also effective as a face and he has created some magical moments down the years. A particular height was when he achieved his 'boyhood dream' of winning the WWE title in 1996 beating Bret Hart in a breath taking 1 hour iron man match.

You can always see the emotion in his performances in and out of the ring and this was most evident in his retirement speech in 1997 which made many people including me shed a tear.

My first impression of the English wrestling scene

There appears to be a lot of small promotions out there all over the country which barely have a budget due to very low exposure.

Here, the first problem is encountered as without a budget to promote a product there is never going to be many people coming to watch. Therefore revenue is not generated and expansion opportunities are very limited. Having little money also effects everything connected with the product including quality of wrestlers, training facilities, training equipment and show equipment.

So in terms of making money there appears to be little opportunity which is highlighted by the fact that Simon Platt's WAR promotion is non-profitable and is more of a hobby than a job.

The WAR promotion attracts a crowd of around 200 people which is almost a sell out as events are held in small venues like school gyms. From what I have heard 200 people is enough to create an atmosphere and all a wrestler needs to get a buzz out of performing which brings me to my next thought.

I was slightly surprised by the fact that it seems to be reasonably easy to become a wrestler and work a show. The smaller the size of the promotion the more likely someone is to be considered as they need people to fill their card. So effectively you could have a situation where a poor quality wrestler is told to do his stuff in the ring but then endangers his opponent due to lack of experience and or talent.

Proper professional training is not used and it appears that move and bump techniques have been passed on from others. This is fine however when things are passed on, they get changed and this could be the case.

If I was a wrestler involved in the independent circuit I would be slightly concerned for my well being if I knew that I had never been professionally trained.

You don't see it when watching on a screen but some of the moves performed are very dangerous and even if you get a move slightly wrong injuries can be caused. Simon Platt told me of a wrestler who dislocated his shoulder after being German suplexed because he landed slightly wrong.

There is a small margin for error in the ring which many do not realise.

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Simon Platt

I was delighted to have the chance to speak to Simon Platt who currently is the promoter of The Wrestling Association of Rugby.

He is also an experienced wrestler having performed in his first show at the tender age of 15 and wrestles under the name of The Bird of Prey Falcon.

Platt, 22, now runs a wrestling school with his brothers which currently has over 25 students. It is a non-profit business with all the money collected being spent on training equipment.

From speaking with him I could tell that wrestling is his absolute passion whether it was performing in a show or training his students.

Here are a few questions I asked him.

What is the best thing about wrestling?

For me its always been the rush of performing in front of children who maybe do not 100 percent believe that what they are seeing is real, but they get so sucked in to the good guy bad guy pantomine style that they really show their emotions towards each wrestler. Its a great feeling to be centre of attention and to have each member of the audience in the palm of your hands especially when your out there doing what you love.

As a promoter what do you look for in a wrestler?

Unlike many promoters I won't refuse to put workers on if they don't look like monsters. I can appreciate though why the size of a wrestler is important as you want crowds to look up in awe at these giants. However I'm much more about convincing the crowd you're a wrestler because of how you look in the ring in terms of how slick you can work a match.

When you are performing what type of character do you play?

I wrestle for 4 promotions other than my own and perform as a heel. At WAR however I have recently turned face which is something a bit different. I've always worked under the name of The Bird of Prey Falcon which was picked for me nine years ago. I was given the option of choosing two names with the other being Ginger Platt so I think I made the right choice!

Do you prefer being a face or a heel?

I prefer being a heel as I like the feeling of getting a hostile reception which should set up a really positive reaction from the crowd for the next wrestler coming out. If I play my part well it doesn't matter who is coming out next, he will get cheered. Even if the person isn't overly charismatic, the fact he is coming out and standing up to me should instantly make him popular. I don't think about trying to get more heat than the other heel wrestlers, I'm simply playing my part for the good of the show and doing it to the best of my ability.


Did you find it hard to take bumps (e.g. being slammed on your back) when you first started out?

To be honest I got used to taking bumps pretty quickly. Although having run a training school for 6 or 7 years now, it seems there aren't many people who have a natural ability to do something the body doesn't feel is right. It's difficult to get into that sort of rhythm but I think focus is the key to getting over the pain. When I was wrestling regularly every time I took a bump I would concentrate so hard on making it look crisp that I forgot about everything else. I'm very nit picky with things like that and I still see a lot of faults in my work so I'm always looking to improve.

Listen to the full interview below.

http://mjweatherup.podomatic.com/player/web/2009-03-21T08_43_43-07_00

The Future :: John Morrison

Without a doubt in my mind John Morrison will become one of the biggest stars in the WWE in the next few years.

His image is one of the key things in my opinion as to why I think that he can be one of the leading heels in the company.

He combines his cocky persona with a perfect body which make him a draw for any crowd.

He reminds me so much of a young Shawn Michaels due to his charisma and unsurprisingly he rates HBK as one of his favourite wrestlers.

There was a significant moment on Raw about a month ago when Morrison did a super kick on Michaels which I interpreted as a message to indicate the torch is gradually being passed.

Currently Morrison is in a tag team with The Miz which is getting them both a lot of exposure as they seem to appear on all three brands and are given the opportunity to cut quite a few promos which always make for humorous viewing.

The way in which Morrison speaks in these promos is so over the top and exaggerated but it works and simply builds on the reaction he gets from the crowd. For example his amusing blatent puns in reference to his physique.

The WWE has clearly thought about the way they market him as they have changed his name from Johnny Nitro to John Morrison and tweaked his style slightly to be more rock star like.

His theme tune is quality and the slow motion camera effect when he appears is also very effective.

I am very sure we will be seeing Morrison in the world title scene in the near future.

Another former wrestler dies

The glitz and glamour of being a professional wrestler is seriously put into perspective when you count up how many ex-stars have died.

Andrew 'Test' Martin, 33, is the latest in a long line to have passed away and the profession is certainly looking more and more like a death trap.

The cause is currently unknown but by looking at the physique of Martin you would certainly suspect steroid use had something to do with it.

He had recently spoken on his Myspace page comparing the use of them to a facelift or botox.

This will surely play on the minds of many young men who are looking to get into the business as it looks like once you join the wrestling circuit, its tough to break out of and in time heath problems arise.

I can sympathise with the men that turn to steroids though as it must be extremely difficult to be on the road performing for 300 days a year.

It seems the use of them is simply what a wrestler is nurtured into due to the demands of the schedule and otherwise they wouldn't be able please all their fans around the world.

There was a wrestler I watched from the years of 1993-95 called Lex Luger and had an all American feel good gimmick. Now age 50 he walks with a zimmer frame and his wife died from a drugs overdose in 2003. She mixed anabolic steroids and two other pain relieving drugs with vodka.

My favourite wrestlers :: Bret Hart

There aren't many men who could get away with wearing a pink and black outfit and labeling themselves 'the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be'.

Bret Hart however could pull this is off and he is without a doubt my childhood hero. I worshipped the ground he walked on as did many other children throughout the 90's.

There were a number of things about Bret that generated his large fan base. He wore iconic pink glasses to the ring and before matches he would always hand these to a child on the front row which is very crowd pleasing.

The Hart family was and still is such a famous stable and Bret was the leader of it. He did such a good job of portraying his in ring character as he was simply being himself. He was a true professional with unbelievable charisma and confidence yet he wasn't in your face.

He really came across as a nice person and this can be confirmed by the number of wrestlers who said how good it was to work with him.

Bret's entrance was electric with an unforgettable them tune and I particularly remember the manner in which he walked emphatically to the ring with his arms out by his side knowing he was the main man.

His wrestling was of the top draw and he had a number of memorable matches against a host of different wrestlers. He prides himself on having never injured anyone he has fought against which doesn't surprise me one bit as he was a technically brilliant wrestler.

Despite much controversy Bret was inducted into the 2006 hall of fame and gave an emotional speech. He ended it with a quote which I think sums him up completely.

"The best chance you have if you want to rise to the top is to give yourself up to lonliness, fear nothing and work hard.

"One thing that you will discover is that life is based less than you think on what you have learned and much more on what you have inside you right from the beginning."

Take a look at the video here.

Are there too many WWE Divas?

I think that there are currently too many Divas signed to the Raw and Smackdown rosters.

When taking into consideration the air time they get during shows which is usually around 10 minutes there are so many of the girls that seem to be doing nothing.

For example in the Maryse versus Melina match this past week on Raw they both brought along support from their brands.

Former champions like like Mickie James, Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool who were standing around the ring must be really frustrated considering they are now simply mid card Divas which means they are going nowhere.

That's not to say that Maryse and Melina don't deserve their current roles as champions but there are a number of girls that don't need to be there for example Jillian, Layla, Eve and Rosa Mendes.

It seems that each woman gets her five minutes of fame as a champion and then get thrown on the scrap heap until a writer decides it's time for another title run. There is no sustained exposure like with the male wrestlers where even after a title loss the superstar can retain his popularity and public interest.

The WWE clearly feel that there is not a lot of overall interest in the Divas as they have announced a 25 Diva battle royal for Wrestlemania which will determine who will be crowned 'Miss Wrestlemania'.

Obviously this is a meaningless title and the fact they have 25 women involved adds to my opinion that there are too many. Instead maybe they could have spent the 10 minutes or so of air time on each show building up a really interesting fatal four way where both the Womens titles would be on the line.

Main event on titantron? Hmmm...

On Raw this past Monday the main event was shown on the titantron. If I had paid good money to come and watch the show I wouldn't be too pleased if the business end of the episode was shown on a screen.

Having been to a few shows myself I am trying to imagine the muted crowd atmosphere after the segment ended and the show was over. I must say though that seeing Orton thrown through the windows of 'his house' by Triple H was quite powerful and further builds the feud between the two.

I suppose the risk you take if you go to Raw or Smackdown is that you could get a weak show as opposed to going to a house show where it is guaranteed that all the best wrestlers will feature in matches. When I went to see Raw in Manchester a couple of years ago I distinctly remember waiting around for things to happen which is obviously due to the many advert breaks.

I record Raw and Smackdown on Sky+ and often find myself fast forwarding through long boring matches like the six man tag involving Mysterio and Christian this week for instance. That type of match is so clearly put there in order to fill time and has little impact on anything.

On the subject of Christian he got anything but a high profile return to the WWE. He just turned up on ECW one week to little commentator reaction and then when he came out on Raw he again got little reaction from Lawler and Cole. This seems strange for such a big name.

Start :: Game - My introduction

Welcome to my new blog 'Wrestling for Life'.

The reasoning behind this name is that I have followed WWF/WWE since I was four years old and believe that I will always be interested in this company and everything surrounding it. The story lines aren't always the best but when you have a number of talented individuals delivering the product interest will always be generated.

I think that the reason why the WWE and other wrestling companies appeal to so many people young and old is that you can interpret what is happening in so many ways. Young fans lap up all the action and want their favourite babyface (good) wrestlers to win without thinking about what happens behind the scenes.

Older fans however do not always follow the faces and often enjoy watching the heel (bad) wrestlers win. They also form opinions as to what they want to see happen which is not necessarily what they get. They believe they know who should get a push into the main event and blame the writers if they do not like what they see similarly to any television series.

Everyone knows that wrestling is staged however this does not stop it from creating unforgettable moments just as professional sport does which is why audiences will continue to grow.

One of my most vivid memories from my youth is watching a back lot brawl between Roddy Piper and Goldust at Wrestlmania 12 in 1996 age 8. This match involved Goldust trying to run Piper over in his car and it was the first time I had seen blood on screen. When watching this match I was extremely scared and had one hand over my eye, a technique which I still use from time to time when watching movies.

I have had a vast amount of practice in wrestling moves through fighting my younger brother and a large teddy bear on beds down the years. Titles changed hands very abruptly and matches usually consisted of me doing moves on my brother as he was considerably smaller. They say don't try this at home but I don't know many people who haven't tried a move before.

My aim is for this blog to cover every aspect of wrestling including WWE past and present and the English wrestling scene. I will also look at the positives and negatives of children watching wrestling.

This picture shows me with my arm raised at my first live event in 1994 at the Albert Hall in London.