Wrestling, Chick-Fil-A, and Homophobia - Enough

When do you finally say enough is enough and it's time for a change? Owen Hart's words ring so true in this day and age, when a lot of wrestling fans are getting fed up with being mocked (subtly or not so subtly), antagonised and outright shitted on because they are women, another race, or, increasingly, LGBT. Social media has broken what was left of kayfabe and thanks to Twitter, Facebook and other sites, we can see wrestlers at their best and their worst. True, we only see what they present for us to see, but if regular people are capable of abusing social media, or typing something in the heat of the moment, so are people in the entertainment world. We have seen it with actors and other sports figures - so too are we seeing it with wrestlers. Even if something offensive is posted and deleted, nothing is ever truly deleted from the internet. It only takes a moment for something to spread like wildfire.

Recently, someone I'm acquainted with on Twitter posted a response to something someone under the Twitter account "NWALegends" had said. What the person under that account said is below in screen caps. (Click to enlarge and read from bottom to top.)

I later found out that the man behind this account is Greg Price, someone who is well known in the wrestling world for organizing the NWA Fan Fests, as well as being the mastermind behind the short-lived NWA: New Beginnings, which was based out of Charlotte, NC. He is also the organizer of the NWA Wrestling Legends Hall of Heroes, which, while not being officially endorsed by the NWA, has been given permission to use the name. So while not working officially FOR the NWA, this is a man that has close ties with the long running, esteemed promotion.

Unfortunately this is nothing new, someone in wrestling commenting on homosexuality. We have seen several examples in the past, most notably with one half of the Ring of Honor tag team the Briscoe Brothers, Jay Briscoe, shooting off right before one of their iPPVs last year. (Cageside Seats has the story: http://www.cagesideseats.com/2011/6/27/2247315/rohs-jay-briscoe-shows-questionable-twitter-judgement ) March of 2011 saw one of WWE's most prominent figures, Michael Cole, tweet his college Josh Matthews, calling him a 'faggot' - the tweet was later deleted and Cole apologised, as did WWE. (TMZ reported it http://www.tmz.com/2011/03/26/wwe-glaad-gay-slur-homophobic-twitter-michael-cole-josh-mathews/ ) Just last month, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels tweeted to a fan who had asked about his hairline "Another dude obsessed w/my hair #homo". As is par for the course, HBK deleted it after negative feedback. (http://www.prowrestlingscoops.com/wwe/wwe-news/hbk-tweets-homophobic-remark-alicia-fox-pics/) And TNA star AJ Styles has long made his opinions on homosexuals known.

However, the recent controversy with Chick-Fil-A has apparently made some wrestlers bold enough to state that they stand with the company, citing that it's an issue of "freedom of speech" rather than one of bigotry, hatred or homophobia. Yesterday, August 1st, was announced as "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, and people were urged to eat there to show their support for the beleaguered company. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/mike-huckabee-chick-fil-a-appreciation-day_n_1696648.html) Some wrestlers showed their support by posting pictures of them eating at the fast food chain, such as Brad Cain aka Lodi (of Lenny and Lodi fame) https://twitter.com/lodi1brad/status/230746827639623680 Several wrestlers took to their twitter to sound off.

Here are tweets from Kirby Mac:

Scorpio Sky (who has previously made homophobic statements on Twitter last year; however, I am unfortunately unable to locate them) - note that the Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson agreed with Sky:

The Twitter exchange with Greg Price/NWALegends was listed at the start of this post. Former WCW star (if you can call him that) Lash LeRoux posted this on his Facebook page (http://www.gerweck.net/2012/08/02/former-wcw-star-comments-on-the-chik-fil-a-controversary/):

Congratulations on such a phenomenally successful Appreciation Day, Chick-fil-A! I have noticed a few people posting derisive remarks and quietly scoffing at the outpouring of support Chick-fil-A received yesterday. Most such commentary seemed to be initiated by those who agreed with Chick-fil-A’s position in principle, yet they cynically viewed the Appreciation Day as a marketing ploy by the fast food giant in an attempt to capitalize on the current controversy. The implication is those who stood in lines for hours were duped by franchise owners who sought nothing more than a spike in profits. However, such a jaded view overlooks the heart of the issue: Christians and conservatives who have increasingly faced insults, mockery and verbal abuse for their fundamental beliefs and convictions. On Wednesday, August 1, 2012, that silent majority stood up and made their voices heard through the power of their purse.
Now a day removed from this massive outpouring, I find it ironic that those who think such efforts were insignificant and trivial seem to be the same who lament that our nation sat quietly by while prayer was removed from school, the Ten Commandments torn out of the courtroom and God was no longer welcomed in the public square. Our generation has learned an indispensable lesson: Silence is capitulation and conviction is not hate.

Now this is only a taste of what is out there. Imagine being a wrestling fan who is also gay and has for years put up with the fact that there is homophobia in wrestling and homophobic wrestlers. Imagine trying to keep your passion alive as it is something that you've loved for years. Now imagine going online during all this controversy to see so many people speaking out in support of CFA, seeing it Tweeted and Facebooked until all the noise, the vitriol and the hatred swirls around in your head until there's a veritable tornado in your mind. And you just cannot take it anymore.

This is what happened to my acquaintance Caelen (WrestlingUpdate on Twitter) yesterday. He had also been one of the people tweeting Mr. Price about his comments. We all have our breaking points and his was yesterday. He posted this for everyone to see and ReTweet:

NEWSFLASH: THE GAYS ARE FANS TOO. (PLS RT)

For so long now I have bitten my lip, simply reporting on Professional Wrestling and keeping my personal life and politics well away from this twitter account.

A few months back I challenged a pro wrestler on homophobic subtext to their blog, they replied with a polite, friendly response but otherwise not adressing any of the points I made - I decided not to take this any further with them as I believed there was no malicious intent. Around the same time I witnessed a blatant display of hate speech coming from one half of a very well known tag-team, I simply unfollowed as I found the content rather disturbing - he has since apologised.

Since then I have seen more and more attacks on homosexuality, much of it masked by "religion" "free-speech" or "MY opinion" which leads me to yesterday.

A well known wrestling organisation professed it's support to Chick-Fil-A as well as it's support for "traditional" marriage - comparing two men or two women marrying to paedophilia. I challenged this to no reply, then a short while ago I noticed the original wrestler I discussed claiming #unity in supporting Chick-Fil-A defiantly on twitter. I'm done. THIS is where I draw the line and speak up.

Chick-Fil-A corporate profits support the Family Research Council. The FRC is officially listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center - along side the KKK, Westboro Baptist Church and American Nazi Party. In 2010 The FRC spend $25,000 lobbying congress NOT to condemn Uganda's "Kill the gays" bill.

I am a wrestling fan, I buy merchandise, DVDs, BluRays, tickets to events, promote said events online, promote wrestlers online - my money goes into YOUR pockets each and every week, and I just so happen to be gay.

I knew I was a wrestling fan before I knew I was gay, there's no seedy interest (if you were to see my partner you would certainly see he is NOT wrestler build) I just love the sport, has been a passion for as long as I can remember.

They say to never meet your idols, well never add them on twitter either - in the past week I have been nothing but disappointed by pro-wrestlers using their position to support causes which discriminate towards homosexuals, so much so it has made me not only consider walking away from this twitter account but walking away from wrestling entirely - I am just utterly despondant that these people who I SUPPORT persist on supporting the criminality of equality.

I am starting to see how the frustration Chris Kanyon felt would take him to such low places, some of these people even claimed to have been his friends!

Religion or personal beliefs are no excuse to discriminate against a person due to their sexuality, race or sex - it's 2012, it's not acceptable.

Caelen is from the United Kingdom, where he is currently engaged to his boyfriend. He's been a wrestling fan since 1983, and he is by no means alone in his disgust with this issue. Wrestling is a niche product as it is, so it is astounding that wrestlers and promotions think they can afford to alienate part of their fan base. Then again, given how companies like World Wrestling Entertainment treat their gay fan base (as well as their female fan base and their minority fan base {see: the lack of talented female wrestlers on television; the Abraham Washington rape joke from July 30th 2012 RAW; Jerry Lawler's racist comment on the same broadcast; Lord Tensai's racist Tout from July 31st 2012; and the many, many racist gimmicks minorities have been cast to work}), this is probably not as surprising it may sound.

However, the Chick-Fil-A controversy goes much deeper than freedom of speech, despite what people want to believe. After all, if you speak your mind in the United States, that's fine. However, words have consequences and so do actions. It is Dan Cathy's actions, as president of CFA that have drawn the most criticism.

This stemmed from an interview done with K. Allan Blume for the Biblical Recorder and posted on the Baptist Press. The link can be found here: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271 What drew notice was his stance at the bottom on supporting "traditional marriage." Cathy says,

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Some writers did some investigation, and it turns out that this is more than Cathy supporting traditional marriage and strengthening families. The New Civil Rights Movement website published this report on July 19th (http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/chick-fil-a-so-whats-the-big-deal-its-just-some-chicken-right/politics/2012/07/19/44029):

Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-Fil-A, recently was reported as saying in an interview with the Baptist Press that he and Chick-Fil-A are “guilty as charged” when defining family units as one man and one woman. His verbal support of this corporate philosophy validates concerns expressed for well over a year by many LGBT organizations. Chick-Fil-A actively donates and supports organizations working to strip rights away and exclude gays and lesbians from such things as job protection, hospital visitation, inheritance rights, adoption, and marriage.

Equality Matters released information on Chick-Fil-A’s $2 million in donations in 2010 to anti-gay and anti-gay marriage organizations in the United States. It is important to note that all of the organizations referenced have taken an active role toward the discrimination of gays and lesbians.

• Exodus International
• National Christian Foundation
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• Family Research Council
• Marriage and Family Foundation
• Georgia Family Council

The largest donation of over $1 million was reported to have gone to Marriage and Family Foundation (focused on fighting against gay marriage).

The organizations referenced mask their intentions as being family-focused and of Christian orientation.  This type of positioning is reminiscent of the arguments used to protect Klu Klux Klan organizations during the 50’s/60’s/70’s. Hate groups used the concept of “preservation of family” and “Christian values” to defend their racist agendas/ambitions. Over time these organizations dehumanized entire classes of people, often leading to violence.
One important point: some of the organizations mentioned also provide a variety of quality services for families and Christian communities. Their mission and intention are not exclusively anti-gay.

This information from EqualityMatters.org was published in November of 2011, but it did not make the waves that Cathy's recent statements have. Now, finally, it seems to be making headway thanks to the controversy his statements have stirred up. Here is the link to the facts about where Cathy's donations (money that CFA has made from the consumers - meaning, money from people who may not have known where their cash was going) are going: http://equalitymatters.org/factcheck/201111010001 Excerpts from the article:

WinShape Is Chick-Fil-A's Charitable Arm. The WinShape Foundation is Chick-fil-A's charitable arm, created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy in 1984. WinShape has received a substantial amount of funding from Chick-fil-A: in 2009 alone, WinShape received $7,814,788 from Chick-fil-A Inc. [Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11] 

WinShape Gave Over $1.7 Million To Anti-Gay Groups. In 2009 alone, WinShape donated $1,733,699 to multiple anti-gay groups:

• Marriage & Family Legacy Fund: $994,199
• Fellowship Of Christian Athletes: $480,000
• National Christian Foundation: $240,000
• Focus On The Family: $12,500
• Eagle Forum: $5,000
• Exodus International: $1,000
• Family Research Council: $1,000

[Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11]

Fellowship Of Christian Athletes (FCA)

Fellowship Of Christian Athletes Conference Has "Freed" People From Homosexuality. Every year, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) holds a National College Conference that Danny Burns, the conference Program Director, described as one in which "God freed some people from homosexuality, sexual sins, addictions and even ushered newcomers into His Kingdom." Burns’ comment has since been edited on FCA’s website. [Equality Matters, 3/22/11, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, accessed 10/28/11]

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Website Highlights Coach Who Was “Delivered From Homosexuality. [Fellowship of Christian Athletes, accessed 10/28/11]

 

FCA Ministry Leader Application Condemns "Impure Lifestyle" of Gays. The application to become an FCA Ministry Leader requires applicants to agree with the FCA's Sexual Purity Statement, which condemns gays as engaging in an "impure lifestyle":

God desires His children to lead pure lives of holiness. The Bible is clear in teaching on sexual sin including sex outside of marriage and homosexual acts. Neither heterosexual sex outside of marriage nor any homosexual act constitute an alternate lifestyle acceptable to God.

While upholding God’s standard of holiness, FCA strongly affirms God’s love and redemptive power in the individual who chooses to follow Him. FCA’s desire is to encourage individuals to trust in Jesus and turn away from any impure lifestyle. [FCA Application, accessed 10/28/11]

WinShape Donated $480,000 To Fellowship of Christian Athletes. WinShape donated $480,000 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in 2009. [Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11]

Eagle Forum

Eagle Forum Is An Extreme Right-Wing Anti-Gay Group. Phyllis Schafly’s Eagle Forum consistently promotes disparaging claims about LGBT people. The group opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to decriminalize homosexuality in 2003 and has railed against courts for promoting a “gay agenda” in schools. [Eagle Forum, 7/18/03, August 2006]

WinShape Donated $5,000 To Eagle Forum. WinShape donated $5,000 to Eagle Forum in 2009. [Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11]

Exodus International

Exodus International Promotes “Ex-Gay” Therapy. Exodus International is one of the world’s largest promoters of “ex-gay” therapy,  the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay to straight. The organization refers to being LGBT as “perverse” and a form of “sexual brokenness.” [Truth Wins Out, accessed 10/28/11]

WinShape Donated $1,000 To Exodus International. WinShape donated $1,000 to Exodus International in 2009. [Winshape 2009 Publicly Available IRS 990 Form via Foundation Center, accessed 10/28/11] 

Is it clear yet why this is not an issue of free speech? Is it clear yet why Chick-Fil-A donating money to these organizations is a problem? All the money is documented in the public IRS forms. This is not a lie, a scam or false accusations. CFA is guilty of donating consumer money to anti-gay organizations. "So what?" you may say. "Other businesses donate money to organizations I may not agree with." Fair enough, but it's worth pointing out that Exodus International promotes "Conversion Therapy" (otherwise known as "Reparative Therapy"), which is therapy that seeks to change the sexual orientation of people. It's built around the assumption that homosexuality is a mental disease and can be 'fixed' via different types of therapy which include masturbatory reconditioning; social skills training; prayer groups and even aversive treatments, like the application of electric shock to the genitals.

Former 'patients' of Exodus have claimed to have been subjected to such shock treatment. All this, despite the fact that in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder. The American Psychological Association Council of Representatives did the same in 1975 and other major mental health organizations followed until, in 1990, the World Health Organization declassified it as well. Yet, these groups still insist that it is a mental disorder that can be and needs to be corrected.

Imagine being a gay teenager dragged off to one of these groups and subjected to such "therapy." Imagine being told that your love for a person of your own sex is "unnatural" and a "mental disease" along the lines of schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. Now imagine being a wrestling fan since 1983 and being faced with such blatant homophobia from people that you admired and respected, and said homophobia is not only tolerated in the sport you love but in some places actively encouraged. This is nothing new, of course, since the "gay stereotype" is a trope in wrestling story lines - but this is no stereotype speaking, these are the people behind the characters that are speaking out now. Letting their dislike and disgust for LGBT people shine openly.

Is it any wonder that Caelen, along with hundreds of wrestling fans that are also gay, have finally had enough? The only wonder is that it did not happen sooner, although with the explosion of social media in this day and age, it is easier to catch a glimpse into a famous person's mind than ever before. Some people have said, "It's not a big deal, it's always been this way." Many things have "always been this way" - slavery, women and African Americans being unable to vote, minorities being unable to hold certain jobs, so on and so forth.

There is absolutely no excuse for homophobia in wrestling. Not if wrestlers and promotions want to continue to exist. You cannot afford to alienate your fan base and make no mistake - you have LGBT fans in your audience. They exist. Why alienate them? You have an opinion about gay people? Keep it to yourself and off social media, unless you want to lose money. I personally stopped supporting Ring of Honor after Jay Briscoes'  tweet last year. In recent years, any promotion that utilizes their female talent in a degrading, humiliating way I drop all support for. I'm one person, but if more people start using their power and their voices yes, things can change.

Power lies in the wallet. If we want these wrestlers and promotions to stop alienating parts of their fan base, we must use this power. Stop purchasing DVDs, stop watching their television programs, stop buying their merchandise and start speaking out on social media. Things do not change unless we make them.

This has been a long post, but I feel it appropriate to end it with Caelen's own post (http://wrestlingupdateplus.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-gays-are-fans-too-blog.html) since he inspired this.

Yes, I know.. for years now I said @WrestlingUpdate would always be a stand alone feature, no website, no blog, no facebook.. a lone twitter entity. Well, that changed - I am primarily posting this due to being asked so many times about a tweet I made a few days ago, here it is, in it's entirety.

NEWSFLASH: THE GAYS ARE FANS TOO. (PLS RT)

For so long now I have bitten my lip, simply reporting on Professional Wrestling and keeping my personal life and politics well away from this twitter account.

A few months back I challenged a pro wrestler on homophobic subtext to their blog, they replied with a polite, friendly response but otherwise not adressing any of the points I made - I decided not to take this any further with them as I believed there was no malicious intent. Around the same time I witnessed a blatant display of hate speech coming from one half of a very well known tag-team, I simply unfollowed as I found the content rather disturbing - he has since apologised.

Since then I have seen more and more attacks on homosexuality, much of it masked by "religion" "free-speech" or "MY opinion" which leads me to yesterday. A well known wrestling organisation professed it's support to Chick-Fil-A as well as it's support for "traditional" marriage - comparing two men or two women marrying to paedophilia. I challenged this to no reply, then a short while ago I noticed the original wrestler I discussed claiming #unity in supporting Chick-Fil-A defiantly on twitter. I'm done. THIS is where I draw the line and speak up.

Chick-Fil-A corporate profits support the Family Research Council. The FRC is officially listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center - along side the KKK, Westboro Baptist Church and American Nazi Party. In 2010 The FRC spend $25,000 lobbying congress NOT to condemn Uganda's "Kill the gays" bill.

I am a wrestling fan, I buy merchandise, DVDs, BluRays, tickets to events, promote said events online, promote wrestlers online - my money goes into YOUR pockets each and every week, and I just so happen to be gay.

I knew I was a wrestling fan before I knew I was gay, there's no seedy interest (if you were to see my partner you would certainly see he is NOT wrestler build) I just love the sport, has been a passion for as long as I can remember.

They say to never meet your idols, well never add them on twitter either - in the past week I have been nothing but disappointed by pro-wrestlers using their position to support causes which discriminate towards homosexuals, so much so it has made me not only consider walking away from this twitter account but walking away from wrestling entirely - I am just utterly despondant that these people who I SUPPORT persist on supporting the criminality of equality.

I am starting to see how the frustration Chris Kanyon felt would take him to such low places, some of these people even claimed to have been his friends! Religion or personal beliefs are no excuse to discriminate against a person due to their sexuality, race or sex - it's 2012, it's not acceptable.

There was so much more I wanted to say but was aware if I rambled and went on forever, no-one would read - this said I was taken aback by just HOW MUCH it was read, I recieved hundreds and hundreds of retweets yesterday- many from wrestlers who have been in WWE/TNA/ROH.

I have never been easy to offend or overly dramatic as I am sure my followers will attest to, I have never really been exposed to such a level of homophobia - masked or otherwise as my family, friends and community see me as I am, not who I sleep with. I have no problems with acceptance - in life it is all I know.

With all that said, I never believed that the one constant in my life since 1983 would be the first exposure I had to real hatred, hatred of something which is a part of me. This has been lifted by the masses of support recieved but a part of me will always remember that those people, whose pockets I lined with money do not see me as their equal.

I am going to call this a day now, I never intended to become some sort of gay, caped wrestling crusader or the voice of the people- I just wanted people to hear the voice of me. I had never intended to flood peoples timelines or end up in a heated debate with Tatanka (yes, it was as bizarre as it sounds) over freedom of speech - I just needed for 5 minutes to express myself as Caelen King, not @WrestlingUpdate.

That said, the question remains: how to strike the balance between free speech and mutual respect in this mixed-up world, both blessed and cursed with instant communication? We should not fight fire with fire, threats with threats.
Timothy Garton Ash

Wrestling: The Brutal, Beautiful Art

"The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali - classic art

Fair warning, this post will be a bit more personal than my other wrestling posts.

A month ago, I wrote about LuFisto's 15 years in wrestling and how much I admired her. I also wrote about how she helped change my way of viewing female wrestlers who choose to pose nude. (The link to that entry is here: http://thedangerousqueen.blogspot.com/2012/06/fifteen-years-of-super-hardcore-anime.html )

On the most recent Women of Wrestling podcast on Ringbellesonline.com (which you can find here: http://ringbellesonline.com/2012/07/15/wow-podcast-43-with-saraya-knight/ ), "Sweet" Saraya Knight revealed that some of the women of her promotion, World Assocation of Women's Wrestling, would be posing nude for a calendar. All the proceeds are going towards the family of a local footballer (soccer player for us Americans) who passed away recently. Nothing will be showing, so it will be in the vein of something like this:http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/article119161605439e5a0.jpg/

However, because I had not listened to the podcast, and instead asked a friend who had what Saraya's announcement was, I only got a slice of the story, that women from WAWW were posing nude for a calendar. As I tend to do, I spoke out rashly, without the aforementioned facts. I worried that some of the women had been pressured or forced into posing against their wishes, worried about how this would be perceived by fans of female wrestling, and said that my opinion of Saraya herself had gone down.

I was quickly informed of the facts and roundly bollocked - deservedly so. One person informed me that if I was going to think less of her, then I needed to think less of the women who do custom matches which, I was told, are done mostly for people to "get off" to. Seeing as how I thought customs were more for "dream match" scenarios for those who can afford them, that was a bit of a shock. But it made me stop and think about it all. I went back and looked at what I wrote for LuFisto's appreciation post and how she had supposedly made me change my point of view. But if she truly had, then it hadn't been a permanent change. Or a real change.

Over the past weekend, I received a few items from Leslie (aka JohnHyperion on Twitter) that I had bought. Items such as mini Joshi figurines, an Ice Ribbon poster, two programs from previous Joshi events and two photobooks, one featuring Manami Toyota and the other Ayako Hamada. When I purchased them, I did not realise they contained the nude photos I'd been told about previously. A friend told me this so when I received the books and started to flip through them, I had mentally braced myself.

"The Birth of Venus" - also art.

To my surprise, the photos were not only tasteful, but beautiful. I found myself drawn to the textures, the vibrant colours in Hamada's book and the contrast of shadow and light in Toyota's. Not every picture was of them sans clothes, and the ones that were had them posing just right to hide what they needed to. In other words, I didn't see the pictures as female wrestlers posing nude. I saw them as art. Beautiful, vivid artwork that could be ranked alongside classical artwork. And it clicked.


For most of my adult life, thanks partly to society, partly to low self esteem and partly to the five years of going to a private Baptist school, I viewed anything to do with nudity and sexuality with a sense of shame. I hated my own body, rarely looking at myself without clothes, and backed up with the fundamental Christian viewpoint of sex as a shameful thing, I saw anything celebrating the male or female form as exploitative and disgusting. This view only started to shift when I began broadening my mind around 2006-2007, but even as much as my political viewpoint started to shift from conservative Republican to progressive Liberal, nudity and sex remained taboo.

When I got into the WWF in 1999, I dismissed the women that posed for Playboy as eye candy and nothing more. The only one that earned my respect was Candice Michelle, as she seemed to really dig in and want to learn how to properly wrestle. However, the odd dichotomy was that I enjoyed looking at the photo shoots the women did. The scenery was varied, the shots were amazing and of course, the ladies themselves were lovely. But posing nude was one way to make me think less of them. So when I found out that Mickie James had done some tasteless photographs and Candice had done softcore porn, I lost respect for them - and I was a huge Mickie fan.

In the past two years, as I've gotten into independent female wrestling, and also started learning about feminism, the two interests coincided. I saw a lot of sexism in wrestling, but there were also some bright points, such as all-female promotions that gave their female talent a chance to show they were more than pretty faces; and promotions that treated men and women equally. Most of these had women who were determined to make it clear they were serious athletes and deserved to be treated as such. As I've fallen in love with wrestling all over again, I've become fiercely protective of it and the reputation female wrestling has. It has a better one, thanks to promotions such as SHIMMER, WSU, CHIKARA, ACW and others, but your average wrestling fan has been conditioned by WWE programming to see females as T&A, nothing more. Posing nude didn't help that reputation - or so I thought.

Wrestling as Art: Manami v Madison Eagles.

Fast forward to now. I can hardly think less of women such as Toyota, Hamada and LuFisto, who are honourable, wonderful women who  have done much for wrestling and been such great examples. No one but a fool would think that they aren't in the upper echelons as far as wrestling skill. Having met Saraya Knight in person, I know what a sweet, lovely person she is. All the women of WAWW are hard working and dedicated to wrestling. On Twitter, Ringbelles confirmed that no one was pressured into posing for the calendar and that one person declined with no problems.

All of this has made me realise that I seriously need to stop and think before reacting, get all of the facts, but most importantly accept and encourage the choices women make for themselves. Feminism is about equality between the genders, empowerment, celebration of women and the right to decide what is good for ourselves (so long as no one else is hurt). Women that choose to pose nude should be applauded that they are secure enough in themselves to do so. Their bodies - our bodies - are nothing to be ashamed of. That is a lie that is still prevalent in America, whereas elsewhere people are more relaxed about sexuality and nudity. If no one in Japan thought less of Toyota or Hamada for doing photo shoots, why should anyone else, including myself?

It was only last year, thanks to my former boyfriend, that I started loving my body and having a healthier self image. This may seem backwards, for all my posturing about being independent and what not, but it's true. He got me to see how lovely I am, physically and mentally. And despite our break up, I have kept that healthy self image, that boost of self esteem. Now, I can look at myself unashamedly and smile.

This is my apology, to Saraya for judging without knowing the facts and for thinking that she would do something as low as to pressure those that work for her into doing something they disagreed with. This is my apology, to Mickie James for disregarding her skill because of a personal choice she made. This is my apology, to every hard working woman I've ever thought less of because of the personal choices they made regarding their bodies. They made their decision and as long as it was made freely, I should have supported them and not thought less of them, as wrestlers or people.

I am sorry. I was wrong. I am going to do my best to change my gut reaction, to get the facts before speaking, and above all to support every woman in their freely-made decisions to empower themselves. I am way too judgmental, reactionary and hypocritical - I will change this.

Wrestler as Work of Art: Ayako Hamada.

At the same time, I would like to thank those people who had a hand in changing my point of view, not least LuFisto, Hamada, and Toyota; Leslie, for selling me the artbooks; Chris, Lee, Rovert, and Matt for challenging my point of view. Ironic that it has been mostly men who have helped change my view.

Wrestling is art. I've long thought that. Now, I consider wrestlers as artists - and sometimes, works of art themselves. Who knows - if I attend SHIMMER and there's any calendars left, I may pick one up for myself.


*Edit: A friend commented on how it looked like I was being too hard on myself, and that it was more a matter of me growing comfortable with new boundaries. Which is true, but at the same time, I reacted poorly and without all the facts concerning Saraya. That led me to thinking about my reactions over the years to women such as Mickie James and the like. I have been very narrow minded and judgmental, and this incident has made me see that I need to change how I react to things and also broaden my point of view.

While I grow more comfortable with sexuality in art, it's important to not jump to conclusions or condemn the free choices women make. They have it hard enough in wrestling - I have condemned others who make things difficult for women in wrestling, now it's time I stop adding to their difficulty by shaming and condemning them.

Song Associations

When you listen to the radio, sometimes there will be a song that instantly brings someone to mind, be it a friend, family member or otherwise. For me, certain songs over time have become associated with wrestlers. No, I'm not talking about their theme songs, I'm talking about your every day songs. I'm going to list a few people that come to mind whenever a certain song plays.


The Undertaker - "His Eyes" by Pseudo Echo

There was a man so cold, no life was in his eyes.

He had a look so hard I've never seen him smile.

I could've told you then, you'd heard it all before,

But now you're in suspense, you'll have to wait for more.

There's a man with no life in his eyes...

I first heard this song when watching Friday the Thirteenth part 5: A New Beginning, and I loved it. It was only a few years ago that I was able to download it to my iPod. Fitting that the video for the song I found for this was a music video set to clips from the movie. But how fitting is this for The Undertaker? A man with no life in his eyes is (usually) a dead man. Every time I listen to it I seem to hear a gong in the distance...

Triple H - "Wherever I May Roam" by Metallica

 Only knowledge will I save..

To the game you stay a slave.

Roam on wanderer

Nomad, vagabond,

Call me what you will.

I remember making this association back in 2000-2001, when the McMahon-Helmsley era was on-going. The song seems to describe someone who is constantly wandering, conquering, and since The Game was doing just that, the connection came instantly. However, now that I'm looking back at it, this song really seems to be about someone constantly on the road and how lonely it can get. "And the road becomes my bride / I am stripped of all but pride / So in her I do confide / And she keeps me satisfied / Gives me all I need" and so on. This song still reminds me of Triple H, but now it seems to be an anthem for any and all professional wrestlers who forsake a stable home and job to roam the country, going wherever they can be booked, earning a reputation, paying their dues. "Less I have the more I gave / Off the beaten path I reign" - some give their all even when they're left with nothing. They may never be on television but to their fans they reign supreme.

April Davids - "Not Afraid" by Eminem

Ain't no way I'mma let you stop me from causing mayhem

When I say I'mma do something I do it

I don't give a damn what you think.

I'm doing this for me.

This song became my anthem for months this year to help me get through a difficult situation. It's about Em's struggle to come back from addiction, and his promise to help other fans through their own situations. It's a powerful song. Recently it looks like April Davids, one of the best wrestlers in the UK, is going through her own difficulties so now whenever I hear it, I think of her. She's a strong woman with a warrior spirit who deserves the best in life. I don't know if she's ever heard this song but I hope she does and uses it as a way of growing stronger and making her own come back.

LuFisto - "SuperSoul" by Dilana

You don't scare me although I'm small

I'm bullet proof and I'm ten feet tall.

Don't doubt myself

Don't play a role

My scars have healed,

Got a Super Soul...

This song is all about a woman bouncing back from someone who has hurt her, and proving how strong and resilient she is. Kind of obvious why LuFisto springs to mind, isn't it? She has taken every set back, every health concern, every person who has ever told her "You can't" and thrown it all back. The Super Hardcore Anime has proven she truly has a Super Soul.

What about you? What are songs that you associate with wrestlers? I'd like to know, tell me here or tweet me.

Thoughts on Beyond Wrestling/Women Superstars Uncensored

WSU's New Logo. Pretty sharp.

When it was announced on June 16th that Drew Cordeiro, the owner of Beyond Wrestling, had purchased Women Superstars Uncensored, there were mostly two reactions. The first one, for those who knew of Beyond, was fairly positive. The second, for those who did not (like me), was mostly confusion. As in, "What is Beyond Wrestling?" Given that former owner Sean McCaffrey had said that a "big name Indy promotion" had bought WSU, the fact that a lot of fans didn't know who or what Beyond was said something. When someone says "big name Indy promotion" you might think of CHIKARA, Anarchy Championship Wrestling or EVOLVE. As for myself, I was skeptical.

After doing some research, I realised that the name did ring a bell - the promotion often has inter-gender wrestling matches. Hailey Hatred and Veda Scott both wrestled there. But the premise was unusual. Starting up in 2009, the shows weren't open to the public. The wrestlers had matches in front of other wrestlers. Their website name showcased this: lookmanofans.com. It was only in July of 2011 did they have their first show that was open to the public. It was a double header with another promotion, Inter-Species Wrestling, called "About Time."  Since then all their shows (with the exception of "Tournament for Tomorrow") have been open. In fact, it was during a show they were running together with St. Louis Anarchy that the purchase of WSU was announced.

So, what to make of this development? From their past results, there's some notable names that compete for Beyond, such as Sugar Dunkerton, RD Evans, Pinkie Sanchez and, as mentioned above, Hailey Hatred and Veda Scott. Their events are shot in High Definition which makes for great viewing. They have a solid online presence with Twitter, Facebook and a popular YouTube channel that is fifth behind TNA, WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling and ROH in the amount of subscribers. The owner, Mr. Cordeiro, is very willing and able to answer any and all questions from fans, and he comes across very well spoken, friendly and, above all, passionate.

Here's links to the most recent interviews he's done after the WSU purchase:

He speaks to the Ringbelles crew as half of the latest Women of Wrestling podcast (in a double shot with Pro-Wrestling EVE Champion, Alpha Female):

http://ringbellesonline.com/2012/06/29/wow-podcast-42-with-alpha-female-and-new-wsu-promoter-drew-cordeiro/

Here, Drew speaks with Leslie Lee of DirtyDirtySheets.com and Thomas Holzerman of "The Wrestling Blog":

http://wallsofjerichoholic.blogspot.com/2012/07/one-where-leslie-lee-and-i-interview.html

As a bonus, here's a written interview he did with DirtyDirtySheets.com prior to the WSU purchase:

http://www.dirtydirtysheets.com/2012/06/12/drew-cordeiro-the-dirty-dirty-sheets-interview/

And lastly, here's one with the trio of Shining Wizards:

http://shiningwizards.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/call-time-4/

What really stood out to me was his excitement and his conviction that gender really doesn't mean anything in wrestling. He sounded genuinely enthusiastic about the future of WSU, wanting them to be bigger and better. I've heard people deride promoters for being fans of wrestling, but honestly how can you be in wrestling and not a fan? Drew sounds like a fan and I think that's a good thing.

I heard him describe the "Tournament for Tomorrow" and it's a great concept. Basically you gather together a group of wrestlers who are fairly unknown and have them compete in a tournament to see who is the best. The matches are put online for free, thereby giving the competitors more exposure to fans. In November, the tournament will be inter-gender: 8 men versus 8 women. We can probably expect that some of the WSU women will be involved, which would be a great opportunity for them.

Some of the perks named in the aforementioned interviews were that a new website for WSU is coming (which this is a huge improvement, given that the old one was incredibly difficult to navigate and downright confusing); they will be working with SmartMarkVideo.com which is one of the best websites out there as far as DVD and Video On Demand services are concerned, and in the future WSU events will be available for VOD. They will also be shot in High Definition, as all of Beyond's events are shot. Given that a large complaint with WSU was the low production values, this is great news. It was often difficult to make out what was happening with camera angles that were off and bad lighting in the arena.

Two quotes stood out for me. One was when Drew said, "I think that there should be one standard, and that should be based on good wrestling." He talks about how people have different standards for men and women in wrestling and disagrees with that. I fully agree with him. Great wrestlers like Sara Del Rey, LuFisto, and Mercedes Martinez weren't trained to be women wrestlers - they were trained to be wrestlers, period. That's partly why they are so highly regarded. They go out and wrestle. He wants to raise WSU to that level, where no one can say that the women therein are good "for women" - he wants people to say that they're good, period.

The second quote was, "People are adverse to change." This is so true, in wrestling as much as anywhere else. When the news hit that Beyond had bought WSU, a lot of the die hard fans panicked. Even before any details were announced, you read things such as, "They're going to be family friendly!" (Like that's a bad thing?); "This sucks, they're going to change everything that makes WSU great."; "Oh man I know they're going to move the shows so that they're in Massachusetts and not in Jersey!"; and so on. I was hesitant but only because I wasn't sure of who/what Beyond was, but I didn't panic. I sat back and waited to see what Drew would say.

Sure enough, listening to the above interviews, I found Drew to come across as an intelligent, well spoken, passionate person. He has clear goals he wants to achieve with WSU, and all of them worthy goals. What I liked most though was that he made it clear he doesn't want to be combative with other promoters/promotions. He told Leslie and Thomas that he would love to work with women from other countries, like Japan. He had nothing but good things to say about SHIMMER, Femmes Fatales, etc. He seems very open to working with others. Given how the former owner, Sean, was to lashing out in public towards other promotions, the fact that Drew is going in the opposite direction is a breath of fresh air.

Seeing as how he is open to taking suggestions from fans, I would like to offer a few myself.

1) Follow through with being willing to work together with other promotions. One thing that really turned me off of Sean was his disregard for remaining professional in public. I'm sure people in wrestling have their private feuds and disagreements but they should remain just that, private. Plus, in his "Farewell Address" he said that everyone does need to work together - then proceeded to take shots at SHIMMER, SHINE, Anarchy Championship Wrestling and even a small dig at the promotion WSU is working with, Femmes Fatales. You very rarely hear Dave Prazak or Stephane Bruyere speak in public about other promotions, let alone speak negatively. I would encourage Drew to follow their example, not Sean's. If there's a disagreement, talk about it in private. Don't air dirty laundry. As a fan, I want to support every promotion that respects women as wrestlers and gives them the opportunity to showcase what they can do in a respectable manner. I don't need or want to know about the politics or the negativity. It turns me off and looks unprofessional to me. Given the fact that WSU, SHIMMER, SHINE, ACW, FF, etc all run in different areas of the country, they aren't direct competition (and they rarely run shows on the same days). So please, do work together.

2) Up the production. Of course, you've already said you're going to do this, so this isn't a problem. This is a huge reason why I haven't bought any of the DVDs, because their production values are so low it's not worth the money. The iPPVs have been iffy, with sound/picture issues and sometimes the camera people not catching big spots. Given the good quality of Beyond events that I've seen online, I'm sure production will be much, much better in the future.

3) Tone down the cussing. Seriously. I know it's Women Superstars Uncensored, but how many times do we need Amy Lee out there using "cunt" "bitch" "ho" and other words? Words have power, and I've heard and seen several great promos that either used no curse words or used one - and that one had a maximum impact. It's like on Impact Wrestling, the Knockouts have regularly called each other "whores" and at first it had an impact (no pun intended) but now it comes across as crass and unnecessary. It gets to be too much, so if Amy Lee is going to continue on in any capacity, I would really like to see the language toned down. That also goes for Annie Social, she curses as much as Amy.

4) Fresh blood. WSU has a good roster, but the under card is a bit underwhelming. Leva Bates had a great showing on the 6/16 iPPV, showing she's much more than a character but is becoming a really good wrestler as well. She would be a good permanent addition. Scout some talent from the east coast, if not from all over, and if cost can be negotiated bring them in. Mia Svensson, Su Yung, Mia Yim, Kimberly (WXW) - there's plenty of women who would be great additions to the roster. Avoid bringing in former Divas or Knockouts, as the price is usually high and it would be better long term to have someone who wants the opportunity to prove herself and stick around rather than a one off appearance.


Personally, I'm excited to see what will happen to WSU under new management. I'm very willing to pay to support a product that deserves it, and there's a lot of women that are already in WSU that deserve our support, but there are changes that do need to be made. Going forward, I along with other fans will be watching to see what happens. I wish Drew nothing but the best - here's hoping for bigger and better things for WSU and their roster!

What is a Dream?

Merriam Webster dictionary describes a "dream" as: a : a strongly desired goal or purpose <a dream of becoming president> as number four on the list of definitions. We all have dreams. Some are big dreams, some are small, but all are important to us, despite how they may look to others.

The Kings and Queen of Wrestling. Picture by Mike Mastrandrea

I can imagine how people reacted to when Sara Del Rey stated that working for World Wrestling Entertainment was a goal of hers. Actually, I can do more than that, I've read reactions online to when she's stated that. Everything from, "That's awesome, hope she makes it!" to "Why would they hire her? She's not a model and isn't attractive." Some reactions were far worse. It's ironic, no one ever said that she wouldn't make it because she wasn't a great wrestler. Her nickname "The Queen of Wrestling" may have come about from when she was partnered with The Kings of Wrestling, Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero, in Ring of Honor, but it's a nickname that truly defines her. She is the Queen, one of the best wrestlers in the world by far.

Sara made her debut in 2001 and never looked back. She mostly stayed on the west coast but then began to branch out. She was trained by some of the best in the business, such as the All Pro Wrestling boot camp where she was trained by Bryan Danielson, and in the New Japan Pro Wrestling Inoki Dojo. You want to talk about promotions? She's wrestled for promotions in Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia and all over the United States...

All Pro Wrestling.
A to Z in Japan (formerly ARISON).
Impact Zone Wrestling (not to be confused with Total Impact Wrestling/Impact Wrestling).
Lucha Libre Femenil.
Big Time Wrestling.
Pro-Wrestling Iron.
Pro-Wrestling Guerrilla.
Alternative Wrestling Show.
Revolution X.
Independent Wrestling Association: Mid-South.
Ring of Honor.
SHIMMER Women Athletes.
ChickFight.
CHIKARA Pro.
All-American Wrestling.
WORLD-1.
Full Impact Pro.
New England Championship Wrestling World Women's Wrestling.
Pro-Wrestling Unplugged.
Jersey All Pro Wrestling.
Canadian Wrestling Revolution.
International Wrestling Cartel.
Pure Wrestling Assocation.
New Elite Wrestling.
Carolina Wrestling Association.
Pro-Wrestling Association of Queensland (Australia).
Squared Circle Wrestling.
Northern Championship Wrestling Femmes Fatales.
Real Championship Wrestling.
Anarchy Championship Wrestling.
Remix Pro.
Absolute Intense Wrestling.

I'm sure I'm missing some, but that's enough to drive home the point, which is that when promotions want a solid, dependable worker, they bring in Sara Del Rey, be her opponent man or woman. Her matches are always superb and she can bring out the best in anyone. She lives for the gym and for wrestling. You never hear a shred of gossip about her. People of both genders want to work with her. Whole divisions have been built on her hard work and dedication.

SHIMMER's First Champion

On the first volume of SHIMMER, her and Mercedes Martinez went to a 20 limit time draw and Allison Danger on commentary said that if someone wanted to know what female wrestling was all about, she would show them that match. I would as well. If someone wanted to know what females are capable of, I'd show them a Sara Del Rey match. She was SHIMMER's first champion, beating Lacey in a title tournament, and the first woman in the promotion to become a double champion when Courtney Rush won the tag team titles for them in March of 2012. She won the eighth Torneo Cibernetico in CHIKARA last year by being the last woman on her team to survive, and came close to winning the Grand Championship in the same promotion, only falling to Mike Quackenbush after a hard fought contest.

It is a bittersweet feeling for us fans - we hate to lose someone, especially when they are as good as the Queen. Her upcoming matches for AIW (against Hailey Hatred, someone she faced a few years ago at AIW and also in JAPW - it will be a vastly different match at Girls Night Out 7 considering how much both women have changed), CHIKARA (she faces current Grand Champion Eddie Kingston in a title match), Remix Pro (Sassy Stephie is challenging for her title there), and SHINE (a dream match - Jazz v Sara Del Rey is the main event for their very first show) will be well attended by fans who want to see her on her last rotation.

Yet, we are not truly losing her. She is moving to another stage in her career. We should be happy for her. Despite jaded and cynical fans reactions to this news, this is a dream for Sara. I'm of the mind that if you are a fan of someone, you follow and support them in all their decisions (except, you know, if they're harming themselves or other people). I know fans who stopped following Awesome Kong when she signed to WWE, which I found petty. A person doesn't stop being who they are or stop being capable of what they can do just because they sign to another company. Considering what all Sara has accomplished in her storied career, there was not much else to achieve on the independent scene. Wrestling Manami Toyota and Aja Kong (the latter her hero) in CHIKARA was achieved in 2010 and 2011 respectively. She has toured the world, wrestling in several countries. Really, what else is there left, aside from the CHIKARA Grand Championship?

It's a shame for Ring of Honor, considering she had just came back to the promotion to combat the so-called "First Lady of ROH" Maria. However, given their financial situation is up in the air, no one can blame her for choosing WWE. Lets face facts - the money is better in WWE. I'm sure they don't pay their Divas as well as their Superstars, but they don't need to take other bookings or second jobs, and if they are injured the company takes care of them. Plus, there is the obvious advantage of television exposure if she makes it out of FCW.

Do I believe this is the start of the rejuvenation of the women's division? To be very blunt, no. Considering at the moment that AJ is the only woman who is receiving any attention from the creative writers, and she isn't even the champion, it doesn't look good. Kharma is supposedly training for a return but who knows when that will be, even if it happens? Down in NXT/FCW things look good, the stand out being Britani "Paige" Knight who came in with a wealth of knowledge thanks to having been wrestling since she was 15 (18 when she was signed) and growing up in a family of wrestlers. Otherwise you have Ivelisse "Sofia Cortez" Velez who was Juliette the Huntress on the independents, and despite how it appeared on Tough Enough, she has looked great down in the developmental camp. Most recently you have Buggy Nova, who is apparently going under her real name of Natalie. She's a West Coast independent wrestler who competed for NWA Hollywood and Big Time Wrestling. She made her SPARKLE debut in October 2011 and was well received by fans. Her look is somewhat 'alternative' and is sure to make her stand out. However, just because there is a good crop in FCW/NXT does not translate to time and attention on RAW or Smackdown.

At the end of the day, however, this is about Sara Del Rey. This is about a woman who is crossing another achievement off of her list. This is about another woman proving those who said she wasn't "tv friendly" wrong. This is about another woman breaking barriers.

The Queen waves to her loyal subjects.

This is about a woman who had a dream and is going to see it come true. This is what matters in the end. I offer my wholehearted congratulations to her - you did it Sara! All the best for the future!

It's Time! It's Time! It's...Veda Time!

What time is it?

In wrestling, people say you have to have a combination of several things to really "make it." This is true for men and women. Aside from the obvious (wrestling skills), you have to be able to talk, engage a crowd, show plenty of personality and charisma and have that hunger, that spark. They have to be willing to travel wherever they can, whenever they can, for the experience, exposure and the age old "to pay their dues." Whether it's a dark match in front of 25 fans or a mid-card bout in front of 300, those that want to prove they really want it are willing to take what they can get in order to increase their knowledge and reputation.

Veda Scott with teacher Daizee Haze. May 2011

One woman that stands out as having that hunger and drive is Veda Scott. She is still a rookie (having had her first match in 2011) but no one can deny her willingness to travel, work hard and prove herself.

A graduate of the Ring of Honor school, she was a student of Daizee Haze and it was fitting that her first match was at Horizon Wrestling Alliance in Maryland against her teacher, Haze. It was May 15th, 2011 and here is that match:

Since then, Veda has worked mainly in the New England and East Coast region, wrestling both men and women. A match that really got her noticed was at Absolute Intense Wrestling in Cleveland, Ohio. She made her debut there in July 2011 for the "Girls Night Out 4" show wrestling Cherry Bomb. During the match, she took an insane bump that you have to see to believe. (The DVD is available through http://shop.aiwrestling.com or http://www.smarkmarkvideo.com - well worth the purchase!) Elsewhere in 2011, she wrestled at Beyond Wrestling, Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic, NWA New England Championship Wrestling, and in October made her debut for SHIMMER Women Athletes, first in a dark match then on Volume 44 wrestling Taylor Made. This was her first trip to the mid-west, outside of where she normally wrestled, but it was not to be her last.

Veda Scott: Better than you.

Most places she had worked for prior to SHIMMER wanted her to work as a heel, which she shows great aptitude for. Over the past year, Veda has improved on the subtle characteristics that help cement her character. For instance, her facial expressions. She shows such disdain for the crowd and her opponents that you can't help but boo her. She tilts her nose in the air, a slight sneer on her lips and looks down on everyone from behind her glasses - Veda Scott is better than you. You know that is exactly what she's thinking.


However, in SHIMMER, she got to play a babyface which was a nice change for her. Her quirky, energetic self was on full display, first in the pre-show SPARKLE match that had her teaming with Su Yung and Kimberly Maddox to take on She Nay Nay, Buggy Nova and 'Bonesaw' Jessie Brooks. Having attended this set of SHIMMER tapings, I thought all six women did well but only Veda made it onto the main taping, in a losing effort to Taylor Made on Volume 44. One of the highlights of the October weekend for me was when she came out and went around, slapping hands with the fans before her match, when she saw me (and mind you, we'd only talked via Twitter, not met in person before) she gave me a HUGE hug! It tickled me to death quite honestly. She may have lost to Taylor but she did well. Apparently I'm not the only one who thought this as she was booked for the March 2012 SHIMMER tapings.


Speaking of 2012, this year has really been a busy one for Miss Scott. AIW booked her for their next Girls Night Out shows, numbers 5 and 6, where she defeated Kimber Lee and took a loss to the Queen of Wrestling, Sara Del Rey. Before the latter match, she took to YouTube and spoke about facing Del Rey in one of the most hilarious promos I've ever watched:

And back tracking just for a minute to 2011, Veda wrestled Gabby Gilbert (TAFKA Roxie Cotton) for World Xtreme Wrestling C4 but before the match, Gabby had her on as a guest on her show "Gabbin' with Gabby." Watching the two interact was a huge contrast, showing the bright, bubbly, hyper Gabby and the wary, disdainful Veda. The fact that Scott had grown into her heel character was very obvious in this video:

Back to 2012, Veda was almost everywhere you looked. AIW, NWA Force One Relaunch 3.0, 2CW, SHIMMER (where she tagged with her international BFF Shazza McKenzie in probably the most energetic tag team on planet Earth; plus got her first win in a match against the scariest woman alive, Saraya Knight, after Saraya refused to release the submission and the referee reversed the decision, giving Veda the win), Pro-Wrestling Syndicate (which also featured Vader on the same show - one wonders if they met face to face), and IndyGurlz just to mention a few.

The fearless interviewer.

When she wasn't wrestling, Veda was hired by Ring of Honor as a backstage interviewer. This set off some criticism, of ROH and of her. Some fans wondered why ROH didn't set up a new Women of Honor division and have Veda wrestle in it. Other people were far more nasty and suspicious, wondering why a woman with so little experience got a "cushy backstage job." The typical stuff women in wrestling get when they get a position others feel they don't deserve for one reason or another. The comments left on the YouTube videos posted wherein she would interview someone or host a show for ROH were horrid and undeservingly harsh. Apparently fans felt she should automatically be the perfect interviewer. Nonetheless, ROH showed confidence in her and kept her on in that role. Veda has settled into it as well, becoming more comfortable on screen talking.

Also, in May, Scott started hosting the CHIKARA reports, talking about the upcoming iPPV in June "Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur." No one knows why she was chosen to do this, but it was an excellent opportunity to grow her mic skills. As a bonus, she and Billy Kumohara hosted the pre-show for the iPPV. She seized those opportunities and made the most of them, earning praise for her hard work and determination. Who knows, in the future we may possibly see her step into the ring at CHIKARA.

In addition to her wrestling responsibilities, Veda has been very public about the fact she is going to college to become a lawyer. Perhaps that's why I've been amazed at her from the beginning. Getting into wrestling and growing your character and skills is hard enough, but couple that with law school? That's no mean feat. In May, she graduated from law school and is set to take the Bar Exam in July. A few days after another promotion she will be debuting for, in fact. How's that for devotion?

Von Eerie silences Scott. Credit texasanarchy.com

In February, Veda took part in a tournament for 2CW called "Girls Grand Prix." She didn't win, unable to get past Rachel Summerlyn in the first round, but she must have made an impression because Veda was announced for another tournament, one with a higher profile. Anarchy Championship Wrestling has a tournament each June in Texas called "Queen of Queens" and this year Veda was invited to compete in it. Again, she didn't make it past her first round opponent (this time Christina Von Eerie), but from all accounts she did well and got a "Please come back!" chant from the crowd. The report from the show says she tried to interview Christina prior to the match while in the ring. As you can see from the picture, the Punk Princess wasn't interested in talking. Someone who was at the show told me that during intermission, Veda set up a bank shaped like a cat that she had bought before the show and was hawking her wares, saying she needed to feed Teddy, her cat. The fans there embraced her, as they have everywhere else and it was another successful debut for another promotion in yet another state.

The sister promotion of SHIMMER, called SHINE Wrestling, announced Veda as one of the workers for their first ever show on iPPV on July 21st. This roster is one of the more interesting ones as you have a mix of veterans such as Sara Del Rey, Mercedes Martinez, Rain, Nikki Roxx and one woman that has re-emerged this past year on the wrestling scene - Jazz; and you have a mix of rookies such as Veda herself, plus Reby Sky, Su Yung, Kimberly, and Leva Bates. Personally I think this is an excellent opportunity for the ones who are still new to wrestling to learn from a great mixture of veterans, plus get exposure on a live iPPV. I'm looking forward to seeing who Veda faces, not to mention the rest of the show.

Just this previous Monday, the call went out that Angelus Layne was injured and would not be able to make her debut at nCw Femmes Fatales this Saturday. The replacement turned out to be - you guessed it - Veda Scott. Although she had traveled with ROH to Canada previously, this will be her wrestling debut in another country. How cool is that? She will be facing Mary Lee Rose. She better take care, Mary will be accompanied by one of the most devious managers in the business, one Mademoiselle Rachelle. This is a huge opportunity for her to impress Stephane and Lufisto, as it could lead to more bookings for her there in the future.

Veda Scott has had quite the rookie year. Sometimes it is hard to remember that it has indeed only been a full year since her first match, it seems she has wrestled almost everywhere. But if you talk to her, you will discover she is the most down to earth, humble woman there is. She takes none of her opportunities for granted, has no airs about her, and is always appreciative for what she has gotten. I've heard fans compare her to AJ in WWE but that's ridiculous. She is her own character, not a knock off or a rip off.

Veda and Teddy - so cute!

Hard working. Dependable. Likable. Energetic. Strong. Devoted. Passionate. Determined. These are all words that are appropriate to describe Veda Scott. It has been a hell of a year for the red headed rookie and I look forward to following her journey wherever it leads. Good luck Veda! 

.....Plus she loves cats. How can you not like a woman who loves cats?