So, I just read two books that changed, or at least expanded my understanding of, the way I look at things for wrestling – or at least writing about wrestling. The first is Bill Simmons (The Sports guy and obvious inspiration for the gimmick change) The Book of Basketball. In that book, he explains the purpose of his regular column as “providing a fans perspective.” That doesn’t mean he doesn’t analyze or look deeply within the sports he covers; instead, it means he isn’t seeking to be an insider -to have sources and cover games or stories- but rather to look for broader stories and insights found only with copious amounts of sports writing and discussions/debates. The point is not objective reportage, but to be a fan and talk about what a fan wants and likes. Doing so often involves copious analysis and huge debates citing various sources, but the perspective and why it matters is still that of the outsider, the viewer, the fan who cares just a bit too much.
The second bit of impetus for this change came from Malcolm Gladwell. As many of you know, I’m an English teacher and for my money, Gladwell is not only the most-brilliant current columnist, not only the best current non-fiction writer, but the best current author in the English language. In the preface of his current book What the Dog Saw, he wrote the following: “The trick to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell. I say trick, but what I mean is challenge, because it’s a very hard thing to do. Our instinct as humans, after all, is to assume most things are not interesting. We flip through the channels on the television and reject ten before we settle on one. We go to a bookstore and look at twenty novels before we pick the one we want. We filter and rank and judge. We have to. There’s just so much out there. But if you want to be a writer, you have to fight that instinct every day. Shampoo doesn’t seem interesting? Well, dammit, it must be, and if it isn’t, I have to believe that it will ultimately lead to something that is.”
So, that’s what this is. In this space we’ll discuss why Legacy are future superstars, even if they bore you to tears right now, a copiously researched (and ready to be updated with huge changes) Top 100 Matches Ever, an all but forgotten feud from two decades ago and why it matters, and a a seemingly insane theory on who is pushed and why. It’s written by a guy just like you- someone who loves wrestling and watches it with a mixture of amusement, fascination, and love- but has the time to listen to every shoot he can find, watch and re-watch important matches from the last twenty years, and write about the joys and horrors of following this crazy pseudo sport. This column will, from here on out, try and remind us all why we’re all here at this site, writing and reading, Wrestling Guys.
We’ll get started tonight with a live Short Smarky ECW Forum Rant, so be sure to check in with PulseWrestling for it! And let me know what you think in the comments below.
