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Respecting the "Real" Wrestling Business

Posted: May 19th 2009 By: CMBurnham

Editor's note: The following commentary is a response to Mike Iles' column. It is Brandon Bishop's opinion and does not neccessarily represent the opinion of Oklafan or its staff

I read Mike Iles column about "Respecting the wrestling business" and thought from HIS point of view it might have made sense, but from mine... not so much...

I respect the Wrestling BUSINESS for giving me what it has given me. Wrestling gave me one of the most emotional public moments of my life on April 4th 2009 when I ended the night to hundreds of standing and screaming ACW fans here in Colorado Springs, standing along side my great friends Dr. Death Steve Williams, Chris Matthews, John O'Malley, and Angel Williams INSIDE the ring, and guys like Mitch Carter, Michael Barry, Zane Morris, Danger Dean, Buddha and the new faces in ACW standing around the ring. That night we celebrated our 100th show and the fact that these guys inside and outside the ring are still family, and still feel passionate about the baby I made and named Asylum Championship Wrestling would have brought to a few tears if I hadn't sweated out everything during the match...

I respect those moments... Like the last night in Texas, or the last night at Graham's in Wichita Falls. I love those moments and I respect them greatly. I love the family and friends and fans that I have met, I repsect wrestling for putting me in that position to meet them and share the experiences we did...

I respect those I've came across along the way that helped improve the overall product of wrestling. The guys that went out of their way to buy amazing gear, learn the move sets safely, and promote themselves and the shows they performed on. I respect those who improved me.. Like the men I mentioned earlier.. also Ty Magnus, Se7en, Payton Scott...

I respect the fact that I am carrying a small piece of the giant Pro Wrestling puzzle in my creative thoughts daily. For those that come to the expo here in Colorado Springs once a month, we ARE that promotion they will talk about going to every month with their kids, or Grandparents, or whomever... I take that responsibility VERY seriously, and do my best to make sure they go home happy.. Hell I even respect having that on my shoulders... I love it...

What I DO NOT RESPECT though... I don't respect individuals that think they deserve respect... When I started out, I was lied to, bullshitted, and directed down every wrong dark alley by the very people that demanded respect from me as a rookie greenhorn. Guess what?... no people... Just because you spent 25 years on the Indy Oklahoma circuit, doesn't mean you're a lock for anyones respect.

The initial rules of RESPECT should always apply, you EARN IT. Guys like Shark Boy and New Jack think they derserve respect... Hell no... Shark Boy deserves a new lung and a forearm to the mouth next time he finds himself in a ring with your pal Brandon, and New Jack deserves an aluminum baseball bat across his monkey skull... Pass the word...

I may seem bitter because I get a little pissed off watching some of you old hacks tugging the spotlight back in your direction just for enough time to limp shake a kid with a dream and dig your claws into them physically mentally and often financially...

Guess what... Hack.. you sucked twenty years ago and you suck now... I get the resepct that I do because I've NEVER ONCE turned some kids wrestling dream into a nightmare.. and believe it or not, I've never ONCE stepped foot into ANY ring and didn't give away everything I had in me on that night, and attempted to improve the ENTIRE show whether it was my spot or not... Looking back about 6-7 years I get even more pissed thinking about you assholes in Oklahoma City.. you know who you are.. I'm not dropping names heres, but you all know...

So PLEASE.. If you're a green kid working in Oklahoma period, and you feel like you're getting jerked around by a promoter or booker or another wrestler, listen to Double B.. Don't put up with anyone's shit... NO ONE IN THAT SCENE outside of Danny Hodge who's about 307 years old, and a very few others who I openly respect, has done SHIT! There will always be OTHER PROMOTIONS and OTHER PLACES TO PERFORM AND TRAIN! Allowing someone to bend you over and fuck your tight innocent asshole with their TINY SPECK of wrestling power is foolish and not productive to your career...

At this level it's your job to improve YOURSELF and HAVE FUN... You're not going to draw asses, it's pretty much invisible to draw 10 people to a promoter, and they won't care if you drew 100. "Here's $5 kid" (Fucking shit promoter assholes)...

I promise you.. Stand up for yourselves, RESPECT ONLY YOURSELF AND THOSE WHO ARE ACTIVELY HELPING YOU. STAY TRUE TO YOUR IDEAS and DON'T LET ANYONE FUCK WITH YOU! Sooner than later these same sleazy douche bag Oklahoma promoters will be calling YOU!.. Promise.. I'm walking proof... enjoy...

BB

Tags: Mike Iles, ACW, Steve Williams, Chris Matthews, John O'Malley, Angel Williams, Mitch Carter, Michael Barry, Zane Morris, Ty Magnus, Se7en, Payton Scott, Danny Hodge, Brandon Bishop