My WrestleMania Moments

Next week signals the biggest week of the wrestling calendar itself as WWE descends on the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana for WrestleMania 34.

With Brock Lesnar set to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, The Undertaker set to return to take on John Cena, Ronda Rousey set to make her in-ring debut as she teams up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon amongst other matches, it should prove to be a memorable edition.

WrestleMania 33 will mark the 16th WrestleMania I have watched live and despite the highs and lows of wrestling, it still remains something that always managed to excite me.

I was lucky enough to attend last years WrestleMania in Orlando, Florida, which was the culmination of a lifelong dream. It was a terrific experience, reminding me why I love the wacky world of professional wrestling and all it's highs and lows. 

But what do I see as the most memorable WrestleMania moments since I've been watching? Here are my top five.

The End of The Undertaker's Streak

Certainly the most shocking moment for my money, as Brock Lesnar put an end to a 21 year streak. 

The best thing about this was how low key the build up to the match was. It just seemed like it was going to be yet another victory for Taker,  all the way until the actual finish.

After that, several questions went through people's heads. Was that planned? Did Brock go into business for himself? Was the Undertaker supposed to kick out? When this daft old sport can make you question things like that, you know you're onto a winner. 

Shawn Michaels retires 

The end of the Heartbreak Kid's storied career came at the end of WrestleMania 26 in one of the best moments in recent memory. 

A two year rivalry with a wrestler's competitive spirit and obsession with achieving greatness leading to his downfall was by far the best story told in recent years.  

This is a moment that still lasts to this day, largely due to the fact that it was the definitive end for HBK when so many retirements have gone the opposite way. A true 'WrestleMania Moment'.

Daniel Bryan becomes WWE World Heavyweight Champion. 

If anything could describe Daniel Bryan defying the odds to end the biggest WrestleMania of all time, it would be fan power. 

As the fans hijacked numerous attempts by WWE to force a main event of Batista v Randy Orton on them, they were made to change their plans and the rest is history.

Although the aftermath wasn't what we wanted, there is nothing better than seeing an underdog achieve their dreams, and that is exactly what happened here.

The Rock takes on Hulk Hogan

A clash of two icons during WrestleMania X8 saw The Rock and Hulk Hogan take part in one of the biggest dream matches of the century.

It's a match that had me on the edge of my seat as a child, and my appreciation for seeing two of the best of all-time has only increased to this day. 

Showing their understanding of the crowd, Hogan wrestled the match as as a babyface and added to already electric atmosphere in the stadium, giving the fans exactly what they want.

Cena and Batista become stars  

WrestleMania has become somewhat of a nostalgia trip in recent years, with part timers coming back to take on each other becoming a new theme for the show.

The last time WWE successfully looked to the future was shockingly over a decade ago at Wrestlemania 21 when John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield to become WWE Champion and Batista defeated Triple H to become World Heavyweight Champion.

By creating two detestable heels in JBL and Triple H that had talked and cheated their way to victory for months, WWE helped create two of the biggest babyfaces in recent memory, and in an era where they are severely lacking stars, the company could do worse than to follow this template again. 

Written by Andy Phillips // 

@AndyP_GY

The Best of Times…The Worst of Times // WrestleMania

The SuperBowl; The World Series; The World Cup; WrestleMania: the fact that Vince McMahon’s showpiece event is regularly mentioned in the same breath as these mainstream juggernauts is testament to his vision and drive, proof that his legacy goes beyond wrestling and touches the worlds of sport and entertainment. Whichever city secures the show of shows becomes the epicentre of the wrestling word, hosting a week-long festival that draws in grap-fans from across the globe. As exciting as all of the supplementary shows are, for me, WrestleMania always remains the most significant: the grandeur of the national anthem; the first shot of the epic set design; the pageantry of the entrances. For 33 years, this show has forged some of the greatest moments in professional wrestling history, as well as some that would be better forgotten. For one last time, I roll out the best of times, worst of times treatment to examine the granddaddy of them all...

Best WrestleMania: WrestleMania 17

This is the only sane choice for best Mania ever and in my humble opinion is the GOAT of all wrestling shows. Want to know how much I love this card? I had My Way by Limp Bizkit played at my wedding (it wasn’t the first dance or anything but yeah, it was in there).

The first hour is a little slow (Kane in a golf cart though) but business picks up in hour two. Angle vs. Benoit isn’t a classic but it’s much better than it gets credit for while the battle of the McMahons over-delivers more than any match in Federation history. That pop Linda gets when she kicks her old man in the plums…wow. TLC is magical, the Edge-Jeff Hardy spear spot absolute perfection while the Undertaker and Triple H have a spirited tussle. The legends’ battle royale is harmless fun: Bobby Heenan’s last stint at a WWF commentary table the undoubted highlight. And then there is the main event: in hindsight the turn was a bad idea but many wrestling commentators were calling for it at the time. And the match itself was superb. The epoch of attitude era brawling: multiple finishing moves, big near falls and genuinely exciting punch-kick combos, this match is action movie wrestling at its finest.

Honourable Mentions: Mania 19/ Mania 31

Worst WrestleMania: WrestleMania 11

For most fans, WrestleMania 9 usually takes this category hands down but at least the Vegas show is fun to look at. True the matches are at best bang average and at worst Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales but there are good moments: sick bumps in the Steiner-Headshrinker war; respected announcers in togas; Todd Pettingill interviewing clearly pissed up fans. By contrast, WrestleMania 11 is just a bit boring. It emanates from their home state of Connecticut, a metaphor for the play it safe nature of the PPV - and features one good match: HBK doing the J-O-B for his kayfabe foe Diesel. Lawrence Taylor may have been big news in the States (and to be fair he performs pretty well here) but as an 11 year old from the UK, this felt like such a nothing main event and I can’t shake that feeling watching the card years later. Elsewhere Bob Backlund vs. Bret Hart is so poor while King Kong Bundy versus Taker is every bit as mundane as it sounds.

Honourable Mentions: Mania 2/ Mania 9

Best Match: Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 25

I was fortunate enough to be in attendance in Houston, Texas when the Deadman went to war with the Heartbreak Kid in the greatest WrestleMania match of all time. Walking into the Reliant Stadium, I knew Taker would win a; indeed, everyone I spoke to that day shared that conviction. We knew Taker’s streak was now the WrestleMania storyline and that if it was ever to be vanquished, it would be offered up to someone other than the near-retired Shawn Michaels. However, half way through this incredible, absorbing contest, I stopped believing that: I reacted to near falls as though either man could win, as did the rest of the crowd. This match shut off the “smart” part of our wrestling brains and retreated to the naïve, purity of fandom that we enjoyed as children; we didn’t question the booking of whether Micheals could or should win, rather  we just lived in the moment,. When HBK kicked out of the Tombstone I took pause and glanced around me: some fans were pumping their fists while others were shaking their heads, the emotion as real and raw as any legit sporting event. A father and son sat next to me, the former cheering on Taker, the latter supporting Michaels, shared a gasp, unable to believe the ride they were being taken on. The feeling among the thousands in attendance was mutual.

Honourable Mentions: Savage vs Warrior (Mania 7)/ Michaels vs Ramon (Mania 10)/ Dudleys v Edge and Christian v Hardys (Manias 16 and 17), Austin vs Rock (Mania 17)/ Michaels v Angle (Mania 21)

Worst Match: Al Snow and Steve Blackman vs. Test and Albert: WrestleMania 16

Al Snow is the worst good wrestler in the sport’s history: he is a pretty capable performer but his back catalogue is full of undisputed train wrecks. This is no different: his odd man team with Blackman was entertaining in skits but really struggled in the ring. This clunky mess, played out before a largely disinterested crowd and topped off by a violent attack on a little person dressed as a block of cheese (!), was better than Snow’s previous nadir (Kennel in the Cell) but only just.

Honourable Mentions: Hulk Hogan vs Sid (Mania 8)/ Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales (Mania 9)/ Sable vs Tori (Mania 15)

Best Promo: Hogan- Austin-Rock at WrestleMania 30

The best promo in Mania history started with two flubs as Hulk Hogan forgot what a) building and b) decade he was in. However, this error provided the base for a great running joke as Steve Austin and The Rock joined him in-ring to provide fans with a real life wrestling Rushmore. Comedy (love Austin’s “great to be back in the Silverdome” line), catchphrases and nostalgia proved a heady cocktail as fans laughed, chanted and cheered through this genuine once in a lifetime moment. Star power never shone so bright.

Honourable Mentions: Hulk Hogan at Mania 4 (he claims that in the event of Trump Plaza sinking, host and future Prez The Donald would abandon all materialistic possessions (!) in order to doggy paddle his family to safety: to illustrate the point, Hogan then backstrokes out of frame); Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts- Mania 6; Pete Rose laying waste to the Boston sports’ scene at Mania 14.

Worst Promo: Rhythm and Blues- WrestleMania 6

In a bloated show, the last thing the fans in Toronto needed was a terrible tag team wasting their time with a poor, pointless promo, singing not so bad it was funny, just so bad as to be really bad. Especially frustrating was that this whole mess existed simply to set up a Bushwhackers run-in. I love cartoon wrestling but this material would drive away hardened fans, let alone non-believers.

Honourable Mention: Brutus Beefcake at Mania 4: he literally just chats waffle for 30 seconds while staring at his scissors. No clue what he was trying to do here.

Best surprise moment: Seth Rollins cashes in at WrestleMania 31.

To qualify as a truly effective surprise, the moment in question should feel spontaneous and unexpected but on closer inspection make total sense for all performers involved. Such was the case when Rollins became the first man to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania, interjecting himself into a great title bout between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, not diluting the match but adding to it. All three men prospered: for Rollins, the moment was an arrival for him, a chance to close the biggest show of the year title in hand; for Lesnar, the title was dropped but as the odd man out in the fall, his aura was preserved; and Reigns maybe benefited most of all. Had he won, the crowd may have rioted and destroyed his push once and for all; by putting over his well-liked Shield alumni, he did business and lived to fight another day.

Honourable Mentions: Rowdy Roddy Piper interferes in Hogan v McMahon- Mania 19; Ronda Rousey appears at Mania 31.

Worst surprise moment: Hogan beats Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9

To the above point: if the surprise benefits no-one going forward, it really shouldn’t happen. Take this infamous night in Vegas: Yokozuna cheated to win the world title, a few grains of salt once again proving too much for a main event wrestler to withstand. Hogan, consoling the defeating Bret Hart, soon decided to enact revenge for the Hitman or ‘Merica or something and within seconds, Yoko was beaten and the Hulkster was the new champion. This match, impromptu and unadvertised as it was, didn’t boost buy rates, it made the Hit-man and Yoko look weak and cast Hogan as, at best a shrewd political mover and at worst, a conniving, attention-hungry schemer. Often fans view Hogan’s antics at Manias 6 and 18 as his most self-serving; this was far worse.

Honourable Mention: Vince turns heel (again) and re-unites the McMahons (again)- Mania 16

Quick Hits:

To sign off the series, here are some quick hits to cover the great and not so good of ‘Mania history.

Best Promoted Main Event: John Cena vs The Rock- Mania 28 (a year in the making and the biggest money show at the PPV box office).

Worst Promoted Main Event: Triple H vs Chris Jericho- Mania 18 (this was all about Steph- glad they don’t take that approach anymore…)

Best Opening Match: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart- Mania 10 (one of the underrated feuds in Fed history)

Worst Opening Match: Tag Team Battle Royale- Mania 14 (I only remember that LOD were in fancy dress and they had Sunny knocking about).

Best Set Design: WrestleMania 29 (an ode to New York: the Statue of Liberty above the ring was something else)

Worst Set Design: WrestleMania 11/13 (these could have just been any old television tapings).

Best Celebrity Involvement: Donald Trump (love him or loathe him, Trump was big business).

Worst Celebrity Involvement: Akebono (I can never unsee Big Show in a nappy).

Written by Sean Taylor-Richardson // @GrownManCenaFan

The Best of Times…The Worst of Times // Royal Rumble

The brainchild of Pat Paterson and everyone’s favourite PPV: as the Rumble hits 30, I look at the best and worst of the show’s history.

Best Rumble Match // 1992

I lose points for originality here but 1992 is the default pick for the vast majority of wrestling fans for good reason: it featured arguably the last great performance of Ric Flair’s career (complete with classic post-match promo); allowed Bobby Heenan to channel his comedic talents to great effect; featured possibly the greatest cast of WWF characters ever assembled in one match; and was the best example of babyface icon Hulk Hogan getting away with being a bit of a dick (why you gotta play Sid like that, Hulkster?) This was probably the night the Royal Rumble truly established itself as appointment viewing on the WWF calendar: now more than just a novelty battle royal, this match, with its drama, unpredictability and moments of consequence and significance, overtook SummerSlam and Survivor Series to become the number 2 show for Vince and the boys.

Honourable Mention: 2007

Worst Rumble Match // 2000

WWF was red hot in 2000 so bringing its greatest gimmick to its home arena of MSG should have been a sure-fire hit, Whilst the undercard was superb, the Rumble match flattered to deceive. In fact, it remains the dullest Rumble match in history, its one fun spot an impromptu dance off between Rikishi and Too Cool for which the crowd came unglued (I remain steadfast that most wrestling fans secretly favour dancing over workrate). All this match is really known for is Road Dogg hanging onto the bottom rope for an eternity and Rocky and Big Show botching the finish. Avoid.

Honourable Mention: 1991

Best Title Match at a Rumble PPV // John Cena vs Umaga (WWE Championship, 2007)

I struggled with this category: I really enjoy the Triple H and Cactus Jack's street fight at 2000 and Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit at 2003 is a wrestling classic. But fans expected those matches to be great: this title bout from San Antonio, contested under Last Man Standing Rules, vastly exceeded expectations. Featuring an innovative spot in which Umaga charged across the announce desks, a mighty juice job from Cena and a frankly mental finish in which the champ used the ring ropes to render his foe unconscious, this match had a bit of everything. It also secured the late Umaga his spot in the huge Battle of the Billionaires match at ‘Mania 23. A true classic and one that doesn’t always get the props it deserves.

Honourable Mention: Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit (2003)

Worst Title Match at a Rumble PPV // Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry (World Title, 2006)

To be honest, the worst title match in Rumble history is probably Triple H vs Scott Steiner from 2003  but as I literally wrote about that last month, I feel I should vary things up. And Angle and Henry sucked so it’s fair game here.  This match, positioned last on the card, therefore going on after the Rumble and a worthier Cena vs Edge encounter, secured said slot simply because the show closing visual was to be Undertaker interrupting the pedestrian action so that he could destroy the ring. That this odd angle led to a belter between Taker and Angle is some consolation but on that fateful night in 2006, this was not Rumble worthy.

Honourable Mention: Triple H vs Scott Steiner (2003)

Best Rumble PPV // 2002

This show featured one of the best Rumble matches ever: Tripe H was a popular winner; Steve Austin had a blast delivering Stone Cold’s greatest hits; Mr Perfect returned and Maven eliminating Undertaker feels even more shocking years later than it was then. The show also had a great undercard: Jericho and The Rock tore it up in the Undisputed Title match and Vince McMahon and Ric Flair had a surprisingly solid street fight. The opening tag is innocuous fun if you watch it now on the Network but I have a soft spot for it based on the DVD release: for some reason, Taz and Spike Dudley delivered commentary on their match and seized the opportunity to mock Stacey Keibler for blowing her slapping spot; as Taz noted, the slap she sent his way would only have connected if he’d been a couple of feet taller.

Honourable Mention: 2007

Worst Rumble PPV: 2006

I’ve already buried the title match but the rest of the show wasn’t up to much either… The undercard featured JBL vs The Boogey Man which was as bad as it sounds and the Rumble itself was uninspiring. Triple H and Rey Mysterio tried to repeat Shawn Michael’s and Davey Boy’s gimmick of surviving the field from the 1 and 2 spot. 11 years may have passed but it still felt too soon to repeat this scenario; about half way through the match it became too clear this was the direction they were going in and the contest suffered accordingly. The pop for Rey after his win probably wasn’t as passionate as expected; sadly, things would only get worse in this regard…

Honourable Mention: 1991

Article by Sean Taylor-Richardson

The Worst Title Runs in WWE History

7th November 2017. The day that many people felt they could tune into Smackdown Live once again. After a period of nearly six months as WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal finally dropped the title to AJ Styles in the first ever world title change outside North America in a move that surprised many but relieved. With a random push to the top after years of being a jobber, the return of an infamously bad gimmick match and an almost infamously bad wrestler, to casual racism and xenophobia, it was a truly a reign that will leave a bad taste in fans' mouths for years to come. Despite that, it's not the only time a title reign has completely flopped, so this month I am taking a look at some world title reigns that fell completely flat on their face.

Before I do that, it's important to note what classes as a bad title reign. I'm not talking about reigns that have lasted a day or even five minutes before a Money In The Bank cash in. They didn't last long enough to be good or bad. I'm talking about the reigns that were either a bad idea or poorly executed. So, here we go

Sheamus – WWE Champion (2009-2010)

I'm putting two title reigns together here but do you remember either of them? I didn't think so. This was the start of a trend that became all too common an occurrence in this time period, where people were handed the title when they weren't ready and never really recovered fully. Sheamus debuted on the 26th October and by December he had beaten John Cena to win the WWE Championship, retaining the title by disqualification against Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble before losing it the next month and regaining it again only to defend in multi-man matches and play second fiddle to the Nexus and John Cena storyline. Both these reigns completely destroyed any momentum that he had when joining the roster before he was turned into King Sheamus shortly after. It seems the worst thing that can happen to someone is for WWE to be high on them at times.

Kevin Owens - WWE Universal Champion – (2016/17)

When Kevin Owens won the Universal Championship for the first time on August 29th 2016 by defeating Roman Reigns, Big Cass and Seth Rollins in a fatal four-way match, the internet was awash with excitement. It was something different and it was another one of the indy darlings that have made it. What followed wasn't exactly the greatest few months in the world for the title, with Owens friendship with Chris Jericho taking precedence of a title that was in its infancy. Endless defences against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins followed, with the reign fittingly ending with a 30 second loss to a 50-year-old Goldberg. Certainly not one of the better ones.

The Rock - WWE Champion (2013)

This one was bad for me for the precedent it set. It was the first time that WWE decided to give the title to someone that wasn't on the full time roster and since then, we've had Brock Lesnar, Triple H and Goldberg all go into each Wrestlemania since with a world title in tow, and Lesnar looks set to do so again next year. This one also stands out like a sore thumb because it saw the end of CM Punk's year long plus reign in order to build to an anticlimatic rematch that nobody wanted to see in Wrestlemania 29's Rock v Cena II, and may very well have been the beginning of the end for everyone's Straight Edge Superstar. I love The Rock, but this wasn't needed.

The Great Khali - World Heavyweight Champion (2007)

If this one doesn't speak for itself, I don't know what does. The problem with this one is that they gave a guy that legitimately cannot work and gave him the championship. Hideous feuds with Rey Mysterio and Batista followed, before it all ended with a whimper when Batista won the title in a triple threat match at No Mercy 2007 after a two month reign. This never needed to happen, and I very much doubt anything like it will again.

Diesel - WWE Champion (1995)

One of two mid-90s selections on the list, this year long title reign has lived in infamy because it took place in the WWE's least ever successful year. Despite having Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels at his disposal, Vince McMahon was determined that Kevin Nash was the next face of the company in 1995 and seemed hell bent on making him so no matter the consequences. Sound familiar? Nevertheless, despite the fact that Diesel was completely stripped of his personality during this run, he wasn't helped by the fact that WWE's roster was extremely thin at this point, and title defences against the likes of Mabel and Sid weren't going to do anyone any favours.

Hulk Hogan - WWE Champion (1993)

Another one that was obviously going to be on the list. After eight years in 1993, it had appeared the WWF had finally moved on from the Hulkamania era in the wake of their steroid trial, with Bret Hart holding the title for eight months prior and set to defend the title against Yokozuna in the main event of Wrestlemania 9, a new generation of superstars were getting a chance to shine. That is, until Hulk Hogan returned to the company and decided he should be champion, randomly winning it out of nowhere by beating new champion Yokozuna in seconds in the main event. It was the icing on the cake to what was certainly one of the lesser Mania's. Despite what I said about The Rock, you could also argue that the precursor nearly 20 years prior, with Hogan not appearing on TV once over the course of his title reign before dropping it to Yokozuna at King of The Ring 1993 and leaving the company altogether.

Rey Mysterio - World Heavyweight Champion (2006)

It was a travesty that Rey Mysterio's first ever world championship reign happened in the circumstances it did, with it being a product of Eddie Guerrero's tragic death in 2006, and the fact that WWE never planned by making him look like a joke afterwards proved it was never what was wanted in the first place. Mysterio looked a pathetic champion week after week and feuded with the likes of Big Show, Mark Henry and The Great Khali before his reign was ended by King Booker at The Great American Bash 2006.

Triple H - World Heavyweight Champion (2003)

Now, I'm actually a big fan of Triple H's but that doesn't take away from the fact that his 280 day title reign in 2003 was mostly awful television. Fresh off the back of the Katie Vick angle only months before, HHH proceeded to have two awful matches with Scott Steiner in the first two PPVs of the year that ended any hopes Big Poppa Pump had of a successful WWE run, before halting Booker T's momentum by defeating him at Wrestlemania 19, taking on his old buddy Kevin Nash and then halting Goldberg's momentum by defeating him in an Elimination Chamber match, whilst injured in 2003. Goldberg eventually ended the run with victory at Unforgiven 2003, but nonetheless, this is a reign that few will remember fondly.

Article by Andy Phillips (@AndyP_GY)

A Conversation with Discovery Wrestling Promoter Alan Smith (Recorded 8th August)

It's taken us a while to get this interview up, after illness and technical issues, but finally here's our interview with the co-promoter of Discovery Wrestling in Edinburgh, Alan Smith, originally recorded on the 8th August. I'm extremely happy with how this turned out and wish we could've got it to you sooner, hopefully you'll agree that it was worth the wait. Topics of discussion include getting into wrestling as a fan and a promoter, the birth of Discovery Wrestling, average show days, the concept of the Y Division and Chris Sabin's involvement, the next break out talent from Scotland and what's to come from the Edinburgh based promotion for the rest of 2017!

ATPW - When did you first get into pro wrestling as a fan and what was it that drew you to the art? 

Alan Smith - I was probably about six years old. That's probably going back to about 1988, would be the first time I can remember watching wrestling and I can remember watching it because my family had just had Sky TV put in and me and my brother were flicking through the TV channels for the first time and we ended up on a channel that had Hulk Hogan on it. Now I'd never watched wrestling before, but for some reason I knew who this person was. I can't explain it. We start watching it and it was Hulk Hogan giving an interview and it cut to an Ultimate Warrior segment and then my brother and myself were hooked from then on in. From age six onwards and I've never stopped watching it from when I was six, so probably going on about 28 years of non-stop watching wrestling. 

ATPW - I think it was those sorts of characters that tended to draw people in back then. It's interesting that you say you knew who Hulk Hogan was, before you saw Hulk Hogan. 

AS - It's one that I can't figure out, because it was so long ago, how I recognised him. I remember when I put on the TV channel, I referred to him as "There's that boxing guy", but I'm not sure if Rocky had been out yet, when he was Thunder Lips. I'm not sure if that was before, was that Rocky IV? Rocky III? Then it cut to Ultimate Warrior and I said "Woah, look at this guy! He's amazing!" Even though I hadn't seen any of the wrestling yet, I just came out with "This guy's amazing!" We just stuck with it from there. Growing up, I was more of a Hulk Hogan fan, my brother was more of an Ultimate Warrior fan. Yeah we just stuck with those characters, which is obviously what it was aimed at in those days, getting the kids to watch and it obviously worked! 

Source - Youtube.com

ATPW - When did you discover that there was a British or Scottish wrestling scene? 

AS - Probably about 15 years ago, 14 years ago. I'd started with the idea that I'd like to be a wrestler, going online and trying to find some wrestling schools. I tried, I live on the east coast of Scotland in Fife and the only school I could find was on the west coast, so it was a couple of hours to drive, it was eight hours of training and then a couple hours to drive home. I had a friend with me, but my friend quit after the first training session. He didn't like it, he didn't want to do it, because he was too sore the next day. I'd gone back the following week and realised that driving that way by yourself and whatnot, I wasn't really committed to it at that point, so I gave up, far too easily. I went back to it a couple of years later at another training school, which was closer to me and again I didn't really gel, it didn't feel right at that training school. Then it was probably another couple of years after that when I got involved in a promotion for a few years, before going my own way, doing what I'm doing now. 

ATPW - How did you form Discovery Wrestling? 

AS - Being part of the other promotion and getting to the point where I was heavily involved in helping run that promotion for a while and realised actually there's a lot of ideas that I have and there's a lot of things that I think should be done a certain way or using certain folk and rather than impose my will on a business, it was a case of "Why don't I do this for myself?". There was another chap in the same promotion and he had the same ideas and actually the whole idea of Discovery came together because I'd been through quite a tough time personally and Alex, who's my business partner, he had just lost his Dad, so we were both going through a bit of a tough period. We'd actually just meet up and of all things just sit and have a cup of tea. Just have a cup of tea and talk about wrestling and say "Wouldn't it be cool if things worked like this?" or "Wouldn't it be cool if things were done like this?" or "Wouldn't it be cool if you had this and you did this?" and just from those meet ups and helping each other through a tough time, Discovery was formed between us. Just the idea and how we'd want a promotion to look and work, that's how it was born.

ATPW - Does Discovery have a certain ethos or a mission statement? What could someone expect if they came to a Discovery show? 

AS - Ultimately, if we're involved in wrestling and putting events on, we're fans of wrestling as well, otherwise why are you involved if you don't have the passion for it? My whole thing was if this show that we're putting on, for example, was on the other side of Scotland, would I pay? Would I travel? Would I go and see it? So the shows that we put on are shows that I would be happy to pay to go and see. You know, I'm a 34 year old man and obviously I've been a fan all my life, but it's about putting on shows that keep adults interesting without having to go down the route of saying we're an over 18's promotion. It's about putting on great quality wrestling and matches, because I think ultimately, kids will love wrestling no matter what, because they're going out and they're going to see something exciting and the matches are so exciting. But what captures adults attention and what keeps them interested and keep coming back. So it's about, yes we are a family friendly promotion, but it's not dumbing the promotion way down and it's not all these wacky storylines and wacky characters, but it's also something that adults can appreciate with the quality of the wrestling. 

When we launched just over three years ago, we referred to ourselves as being Generation Y, because Generation X that's your baby boomers, but Generation Y is the next generation that came along. It's the people that have grown up with social networking, social media and mobile phones, so Generation Y is aged from probably about 14 upwards now. So really, we're a promotion that's geared towards your fourteen and overs. 

Credit - Discovery Wrestling

ATPW - Could you talk us through an average show day for Discovery? What would you be up to on the day of a show? 

AS - I kind of do everything. Show days are my most stressful days, usually. Just because there's so much to do. We're putting on these massive shows, but we are a very small team. So my day would probably involved, in the morning, picking up talent. If we've got international talent coming in, I'll personally do the airport run, meet them at the airport, make sure everything's fine and get them settled into Edinburgh. I'll be at the venue, I'll be making sure that everyone's happy at the venue, that our ring crew has arrived and the ring's getting set up. Then it's just all hands on deck. When it comes time for showtime, I'll be doing production, pushing all the buttons, starting all the entrance videos and the music, giving guys the cue to get out there and get it done. Alex, he usually deals with all of the front of house things, he's doing the customer service, making sure that everyone's getting in and getting the right seats. Making sure the crowd are happy in that way, because that's a massive thing for us. It's one thing to put together a really strong card, but the other side of it is the customer satisfaction and it has to be every aspect. We've all been there as fans and turned up to a big event and there's confusion over who goes where with tickets and it can sometime take away from your experience of going to an event. Everything important to us, from the doors opening and making sure everyone gets in on time, there are no delays, that people know where they're going and getting the right seats, that there are enough seats for them and then once that's all done then we know they're going to be in for a good night because we really pack the cards. My job really is backstage making sure that all the wrestlers know what they're doing, when they're going out, their match time limits and making sure that they don't have any questions, because its all told to them. They can just relax and go out and put on a good match. 

ATPW - I think what you were saying about the front of house, can really make all the difference for a fan going to a show and you don't have to ask "Where am I sitting?" and you're not waiting half an hour, an hour to get into the show...

AS - I mean, I still go to shows and I still go to other independent shows here and there and the thing you find is, you need to make sure you've got enough people to look after your crowd, because that's the last thing you want, at the end of the night you've put on this amazing show, the wrestling's been great and you go online and you look at the comments from people and it's people saying "Great show but I never got my seat" or "I never got that" or "The show finished late and I had to leave early to catch my bus". All those little things, they bother me. It might sound a bit corny, if I know that one fan's going away unhappy because of one element of the show, that'll bug me until the next show, when we can get it totally right. I'm a bit OCD like that, a bit of a perfectionist. From the moment that somebodies bought a ticket, who's paid to come and see a show that you're putting on, from the moment that they turn up at that front door, they need to be looked after. 

Credit - David James Wilson/Discovery Wrestling

ATPW - I wanted to talk a little about the Y Division Championship, because it's got an interesting history, but first can you explain the idea behind the division and where that came from? 

AS - Originally, we thought "We're going to start with a championship belt and we're going to add division to it". We were looking at other promotions and thinking "We'll have a heavyweight champion, we'll have this division, we'll have a Women's division, we'll have a tag team championship" and then as this got started we don't have a show every month, we don't put on two shows a month, we put on maybe seven or eight events in a year. So that limits what you can do with championships and titles. So we started the Y Division to start off because we're all about Generation Y, the big thing in the logo is the Y. So we thought we'll focus on the Y Division. The big thing was going to be focused on your Cruisers really, technical, fast-paced guys and we opened it right up, because it was getting a good reputation. I'm obviously biased, but the Y Division Championship belt is one of the most beautiful belts out there. So we thought the focus should be on this. Yeah, we called it the Y Division, but lets not break everyone up into divisions and not say "You're a heavyweight so you're only going to get Heavyweight Championship matches", "You're in this category so you're only going to get those" because we've got such a great mix of talent on our roster and it doesn't matter if someone's a heavyweight or someone would be considered a cruiser. They can still go in together and have an awesome match, it doesn't matter about their weight classes. So we focused on having a Y Division Championship and it's only now that we're starting to add championships to Discovery, but I don't think we'll ever have one that's focused on a weight class. From next month we'll have our Women's Championship, as well to add to the Y Division. 

ATPW - The first champion was Chris Sabin, what was the situation surrounding that? Because it got a little bit complicated

AS - It was certainly complicated. Chris Sabin was part of our first ever show, everybody knows what a great talent Chris Sabin is and he came in and did our first show, despite us being new. Lots of wrestlers will obviously be very hesitant if there's a brand new promotion saying "Hey look, we're just starting and we want you to be on our first show and we want you to come all the way over from America". Of course they can just say "We don't know who you are, you've got no reputation, I'm not going to do this", but we had a chat with him and he was cool, he came over and did our first show and was such a hit with the fans and he was great to deal with. So we decided we were going to keep bringing him back and wanted to build a roster around these types of guys. The decision was made and he won the Y Division Championship after a short tournament that we had. Unfortunately, shortly after he won the championship, it must have been about a month later, he suffered a very serious injury. It kept him out of wrestling completely for months, it could have been between nine months and a year that he was out. We thought, because we weren't sure how serious the injury was, "We'll keep the championship on him for now, we won't strip him of it and we'll give him the chance to come back and defend it". But it got to the point where we knew his lay off was going to be a bit more long term, so we thought "We'll crown and interim Y Division Champion" and then as soon as Sabin was fit to wrestle, we could bring him back and we could have a unification match, but unfortunately that didn't happen. He has been fit since, but our dates always seem to clash with Ring of Honor dates and he's always on those shows, but we were desperately trying to bring him back. But the decision was made November of last year, because Lewis Girvan had been the Interim Y Division Champion for a year, "it's been a year now, let's now make it official that Lewis is Y Division Champion". When dates match up, Chris Sabin is going to be back and he's going to be getting a title shot as soon as we're able to bring him back to Edinburgh. 

Source - Internet Wrestling Database

ATPW - So hopefully out of that difficult situation, you've got a potential "moment" when Sabin returns and challenges Lewis Girvan, that will mean something to long-term fans of the promotion. 

AS - Yeah. Anytime we put out there "We've got a special guest coming on this date" or "Who would you like to see?", the number of people who say "Chris Sabin, he's due his Y Division championship shot", it's great to see now that we're at the point, just about to celebrate our third anniversary, where people care about what we do, it's not just suggesting it for the sake of suggesting it, people actually care about what matches take place and who gets the title shots. It shows that we must be doing something right because lets face it people give a shit about what we do! 

ATPW - Yeah, the way that British wrestling is at the moment, people don't have to part with their money, unless it's something they care about!

AS - Plus there's so much choice in wrestling. The number of promotions in Scotland alone, for example, people are spoilt for choice. Every corner of Scotland has something, so they can choose. So if we've got to the point where people care about us and want to keep coming back, we're doing something right and this year was the first year where we had season passes for our Edinburgh events. There was such a great take up of that and we've already got our dates together for 2018 and people are already asking us when do season passes go on sale! It's great that we're building a proper loyal fanbase now. 

ATPW - It surprised me when promotions started doing season tickets, that it was something that hadn't really been used in wrestling before, despite existing elsewhere in similar fields. 

AS - I think, it might be a thing of depending on how organised promotions are with their dates in advance. Certainly for us in our first year, we were still trying out different venues and finding which ones worked for us or didn't work for us. So this year has been the first year where we've been able to. We're half way through 2017 so it was probably this time last year where I would've had all our 2017 dates sorted. But for the first couple of years, we were on a show by show basis, it wasn't organised that far ahead. I think that might be the same for a lot of promotions, so they probably couldn't put season passes on sale, while they were going "We've got a couple of shows planned, we might have one here we might have one there", but I think now, promotions have found the venues they like to use, they get their dates so far in advance and we're the same. I think that's probably why season passes have taken a while to come about. It's been amazing to see how well they've done at other promotions and that obviously influenced us in doing the same thing.  

Credit - David James Wilson/Discovery Wrestling

ATPW - You tend to use, at least one imported talent on each of your cards, what goes into who you pick to attempt to get involved in a Discovery show? 

AS - I think to start off with, it was a case of, everyone's got their idea of who is the one that people want to see. I think as we've found our groove, it's been more about who compliments what we do? Who embodies the events that we're trying to put on? Secondly, we work with a number of other UK promotions who lets us know "Hey, we're bringing in so and so, if you've got a show on this date, would you like them to be on your show as well?" So there's a good bit of work going on with other promotions when it comes to international talent. We know now, that we've really found the groove, what the Discovery audience wants. For example, a couple of months ago having Matt Riddle here and going one on one with Mikey Whiplash. Matt Riddle is that kind of talent. You're looking at talent that regularly run with perhaps, PWG or Ring of Honor. These kind of guys we know are the wrestlers that our fans want to see. Not only do we approach them, but we get approached very regularly now. That's the big difference from where we are and where we were when we first started out, when it was like "Are these guys any good? Will I take a booking there or not?". Three years later we've built up a good reputation, not just with the fans, but with the wrestlers themselves who know that when they're going to come to Discovery they're going to be treated really well. They're going to be in a good venue, they're going to be in front of great crowds and they want to be a part of it now. So we get approached by them fairly regularly saying "I'm going to be in Europe between this date and this date, do you have a show?". So that tends to be how we go about it now! 

ATPW - Have you got any particular favourites that you've bought in, whether that be their performances in the ring or how their personalities backstage? 

AS - We've been pretty fortunate that most, I guess all, of the people that we've had with us have been really good to work with and that's not the case with a lot of promotions, sometimes they'll bring in a guy and they're not that pleasant for whatever reason. But we've been blessed, I guess, with the guys that we've bought in. Matt Riddle was so laid back and was just "go with the flow". Then you've got guys like Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, who we had here in April. Going out to have something to eat with Kenny Omega the night before the show and just talking video games, for example. Sometimes, it feels pretty surreal. It's been great to have these guys come in and enjoy their time in Edinburgh to the point where they keep coming back. Obviously, Chris Sabin been over her quite a lot. War Machine [Hanson & Raymond Rowe], they look the meanest guys on the planet, they look so tough, but they're so friendly and we loved having them in August last year. We're so desperate to get them back on a show for us as well, but the dates just never match up. They did a show in Glasgow recently and they got in touch with me to say "We've got a day off, can we come through to Edinburgh? We just want to do some sightseeing" so I said "Of course, yes". So just going out and sightseeing with War Machine in Edinburgh. You get on a good, friendly rapport with guys, so we've been really fortunate in that way. But in times of overall favourite, I'm not sure who I would put on the top of that. 

Source - Twitter/@PENTAELZEROM

ATPW - Is there anyone who you'd like to bring in, perhaps someone you've tried to get in the past but it hasn't worked out? 

AS - There's loads. There's a massive list for me! Where to start? Where should I start with this? We've got a fans page on Facebook and we're always saying "Who do you want to see?" and it's always the same names that keep coming up.

For a couple of years it was "Bring Kenny Omega" "We Want Kenny Omega" "We Want Kenny Omega" "We Want Kenny Omega" and it was like "We're trying to get Kenny Omega. Don't worry. We're trying" and then that came off in April, which was amazing. It was one of these that was totally out of the blue. We'd been planning for our September anniversary show and thinking "Who can we get?" and we're in contact with the Young Bucks a fair bit and trying to maybe see what could work in September. And then all of a sudden, they approached us and said "We want to do a UK tour in April. Would you do the Scottish leg for us", we were like "Yeah sure, no problem". They said "There's only one condition, we have to bring a third person", we said "Who's that?"..."Oh it's Kenny Omega" and we're like "Yeah, no problem that's totally fine". So we were delighted that we could bring those guys in. 

I'd love to see Penta el Zero M, guys like Jeff Cobb and Cody Rhodes. We've spoken with a lot of these guys in the past and it's all just about getting dates, because obviously they've got so many dates. Keith Lee, we're always looking at whose taken over online, whose the internet going a bit mad for right now and being like "OK lets bring them in and see what they can do here as well!". There's so many, the list is huge. My ultimate though, I would love to have the Motor City Machine Guns. We're desperate to have Chris Sabin back and he is probably bugged out with the amount of times I've asked him "Next time you come over, can you bring Alex Shelley as well?". I think for me at the moment, because we've had Chris Sabin here so often and we've had the Young Bucks here, if we could somehow bring the Motor City Machine Guns here into Discovery, I think that would be a huge coup for us. 

ATPW -  We've seen a couple of Discovery regulars head to television products like WWE's NXT, with Big Damo now working as Killian Dane, is there anyone on your regular roster at the moment that you think could be the next one to step up? 

AS - It's hard to look past Joe Coffey. The guys just doing everything right and you've got think it's just a matter of time. He's doing so well, not just in Discovery, but at so many promotions across the UK. He's been our top billing guy since we've start, between him and Lewis Girvan have been in the main events since the start. A lot of the international guys we've brought in, Coffey's had those matches and they've been insane. They've just been incredible matches. He's had two matches with Chris Hero, he's had a match with Jay Lethal which was for the Ring of Honor Heavyweight Championship, the first time the Ring of Honor heavyweight Championship had been defended in Scotland, so we had that match, we had him up against Tommaso Ciampa as well. So all these guys that you look at, Chris Hero is now Kassius Ohno in NXT, Tommaso Ciampa that was his last independent weekend. Coffey's wrestled all these guys who've now taken over NXT, you've just got to think it's only a matter of time. Where is the offer for Joe Coffey? Because he is that good. Every match he's had with us, since the start, has been first class and I'm sure that's the same wherever he goes. So I think Joe Coffey has to be the next guy to make that leap from us.

Then we've got so many others in Discovery. Lewis Girvan feels like he's been on the scene for years and years and years. He's only 22, but it seems like he's been around forever. There's no shortage of people that could potential make that jump. 

Credit - David James Wilson/Discovery Wrestling

ATPW - It's crazy now, that you can have so many shows running in the same country on the same night that have such a deep pools of talent to choose from! 

AS - There's talent that have maybe only done one or two shows for Discovery, that we've maybe only switched onto this year, like Chris Ridgeway. He's phenomenal and he's doing so well in so many promotions now. I just saw him tweeting a short time ago about how he's making his debut at this promotion and that promotion. Chris Ridgeway is another one that we rate very highly and think that he's got the tools to do something pretty special as well. 

ATPW - Chris Ridgeway is someone I've wanted to see again for a while...same with Lewis Girvan actually...

AS - Lewis is doing some great things with, he's been our Y Division Champion for close to two years, but forming this tag team with Aspen Faith. Aspen Faith is another one whose just got something very special about him. They call themselves the Kings of Catch and they're both amazing technical wrestlers but they're personalities alongside it. They're another one where we've had both of these guys in Discovery for a long time, but every time we announce the matches it's "Put the Kings of the Catch" "The Kings of Catch" "The Kings of Catch". So I think now those as a tag team, we're going to see a lot of them, in a lot of places over the next year. 

ATPW - Discovery's next show is 16th September, Year 3, can you let us know what you've got in store for that show? 

AS - This is our third anniversary and we're back at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange, which is a big venue. We've been there a few times in the past, they've got a small hall and a big hall, the main exchange, so we're back in the main exchange, where we had the Elite with us in April. We're hoping that we can have people come along and celebrate our third anniversary in style. It's gonna be the night where we crown our first ever Women's champion, so we've had tournament running this year, where women have been qualifying for a four way elimination match. The four way elimination match has been a staple of Discovery, whenever you go to a Discovery show there's a four way elimination match and that gave birth to the Y Division, so to speak. So it's going to be the first women's four way elimination match in Discovery and we're going to use that to crown the Women's Champion. We've got four completely different four completely different personalities in there, we've got "Session Moth" Martina, Sammii Jayne, Lucy Cole and Nina Samuels. So it's a great mix of talent. We've also got Lisa Marie Varon, who was Victoria in WWE and Tara in TNA, she's going to crown our first ever Women's champion. I thought that would be a nice touch for someone whose won Women's Championships in both WWE and TNA to be there and give legitimacy to our Women's championship in Discovery.

Matt Riddle is coming back as well, he'll be in action. We have a massive triple threat tag team match, we've got Polo Promotions against the New Age Kliq against the Kings of the North. Joe Hendry's going to be in action, Lewis Girvan will be defending his Y Division championship. We've had another tournament running this year, which has been the Hotter than Hell Invitational. We're back by a tattoo company in Edinburgh called Hotter than Hell Tattoo, so they wanted to get properly involved, so we had the tournament set up. The final is later in the year, but the two semi finals we've got on our Third anniversary show, Aspen Faith is going against Chris Ridgeway and Rampage Brown is going against Mikey Whiplash. So straight away the card is so stacked already. It's going to be pretty exciting. Hopefully it will show people how far we've come in three shorts years. It's the third anniversary but we keep going forward and we keep planning ahead. 

(Announced after this interview - ROH star Dalton Castle will face Joe Hendry, the House of Saynt vs. Michael Chase and two partners of his choosing and Mae Young Classic competitor Ayesha Raymond vs. Debbie Sharp) 

Tickets available here - https://shop.discoverywrestling.com/

Credit - Graeme K Cunningham Photography/Discovery Wrestling

ATPW - If someone had never seen Discovery, what matches would you pick out to show them to win them over to your product?

There are a few. I would send them to watch...there were three Joe Coffey matches from 2016. Joe Coffey vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Joe Coffey vs. Chris Hero and Joe Coffey vs. Jay Lethal. Then November last year there was Lewis Girvan v Marty Scurll, which was a phenomenal match. It was the same night we had Coffey vs. Ciampa and it was just incredible show from start to finish. This year we had the Elite with us, we had a big six man tag, we had BT Gunn, Joe Coffey & Lewis Girvan against Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, but also on the same card we had Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll facing off against each other for the first time in Scotland. The whole of that card was exciting, even matches like Liam Slater vs. Joe Hendry and things like that. We had a lucha special as well where we had Shane Strickland, Angelica and Ricochet and that whole card will always stand out to me as being a belter of a show. The main event was and people kind of questioned us at the time, it was Ricochet vs. Big Damo, but it was something to behold. People were like "You can't put Ricochet in with Big Damo, what's Ricochet going to be able to do with a guy the size of Damo" but if you get the chance to go online and watch it, you'll be amazed. There was proper mark out moments for me, like Ricochet back suplexed Damo and even hit a spin-out powerbomb and you're thinking "How is that even possible? What is going on right now?" The fans were going crazy for it, they were going absolutely nuts.  

ATPW - I think that's something we don't see as often as we should, bigger guys mixing it up with smaller guys, produces a different dynamic...

AS - All cards have to have a mix of everything. You have to have a very layered card where it's not just six of the same matches, you have to give people variety. I think part of that variety is mixing up the weights and going "Okay, Big Damo vs. Ricochet!" Mix it up a bit and you get matches like that, which nobody would expect. 

ATPW - What are your short term and long terms goal with Discovery and pro wrestling in general? 

AS - Short term is obviously getting through our third anniversary. Hoping that we get a good turnout for it and people come out and celebrate it. That's definitely short term. We know what we've got coming for the rest of 2017. We've got for November, Pete Dunne, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate are making their Discovery debuts. We've got a very special show in December (Interviewers Note - Announced as Discovery vs. Bullet Club with the Young Bucks, Cody and Marty Scurll). It's gonna be massive again and you'll see it all over social media. 

Then long term in 2018, we've got our shows locked down and it's just continuing to grow. We always start out saying "We'll do half a dozen shows a year" but we end up doing more shows than we plan for. A lot of the time, it's because talent say "Can we come and do a show?" like when The Elite get in touch with you and say "Can you put a date on for us in Scotland?", you say "Of course, we can!". Long term it's just continuing to grow, trying to continue to grow, you look at companies like PROGRESS who go "We've announced a show" and ten minutes later they've sold out that show. That's the kind of thing. You look at OTT and that's the same kind of thing as well. You look at these promotions and go "Wow, that's incredible, what an achievement to be able to do that". That's the kind of thing we want to achieve as well, to get people excited to where you can sell out a big show without really announcing anything. Just continuing to have a good quality product that you know people can depend on and they know they're always going to see something good as soon as you announce a show. 

We've got options again, certainly online. The way things have been going over the last couple of months we've got exciting prospects for streaming services. We currently have an on demand service, but we've had developments over other prospects, so hopefully we'll have some more exciting news on that soon as well. 

Source - Discovery Wrestling

ATPW - Do you still watch wrestling as fan? Is there anything you've been watching at the moment? 

AS - I must admit I don't watch as much as I'd like to, everyone knows that life's busy. I'm a fan of Ring of Honor, so I've been following a lot of what they've been doing, but apart from that and I'm probably in the minority here, I don't even have a subscription to the WWE Network, it kind of expired and I hadn't even realised that I hadn't been on the Network for months. You stay in touch with it, because so many of the people on my friends list are into wrestling, so you see them sharing videos and stories of what is going on. But I tend to just dip in and out of wrestling, in terms of watching it, because I'm so busy planning for what we're doing, that sometimes you forget that there's other wrestling going on! 

ATPW - Where can people find Discovery online, social media, tickets, etc? 

AS - Online, Facebook's your best bet, Facebook.com/DiscoveryWrestling. On Twitter, we are @DiscoWrestling, don't confuse us with Disco Inferno, especially after today! There's been so many people in the past who have said "You should bring Disco Inferno in for a show, because you're Disco Wrestling". I don't think so! If you want to watch what we do, there is some content on Youtube right now. We have our own on demand channel which is OD.DiscoveryWrestling.com, you can sign in, get a free two week trial and binge watch everything we've done over the last couple of years. Binge watch what we do, share it and tell people you enjoy. The ticket site is shop.DiscoveryWrestling.com

Interview conducted by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)