Fact: the Road to Wrestlemania is not interesting to watch on NXT

You already know how much I love NXT. Here’s a list of things (by no means comprehensive) I enjoy seeing on it:

1) Paige killing bitches by kicking them in the head
2) Big E Langston killing bitches and pinning them for five
3) Adrian Neville being amazing
4) The one true Ascension
5) A plethora of magnificent beards
6) Emma’s dancing
7) Kassius Ohno speaking truth to William Regal

Question: would you apply for this job?

Remember when I went on a rant last summer about how British professional wrestling could make itself more professional?

Here’s another pointer to add to the list – don’t post creepy ads on Gumtree.

Question: how fearsome are TNA’s Aces and Eights?

So TNA’s new heavyweight champion Bully Ray is also the president of the Aces and Eights – and what’s more, he has a waistcoat to prove it.

He leads a frankly quite motley crew consisting of D’Lo Brown, Devon, Taz, Mike Knox, DOC, Mr Anderson (somewhat lost in the mix), Wes Brisco and, of course, Garett Bischoff.

Initially they were all masked – and as every horror movie maker knows, what you can’t see, what’s unknown, is far more scary than showing you things explicitly.

Question: are the Bella Twins what the WWE Divas’ Division needs?

When I said the Divas’ Division needed some additions, this was NOT exactly what I meant.

Yes, the Bella Twins are back, and they are being petted by Damien Sandow (though not by Cody Rhodes).

Question: what will become of Ivelisse Velez after her failed TNA Gut Check?

She’s a good wrestler, she’s improved immensely since her appearance on Tough Enough, she can legit fight, she beat her opponent in the Gut Check tryout, and yet TNA don’t fancy taking a chance on her.

What will Ivelisse Velez do next?

Facts from 4FW, Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, March 8th 2013

I’ve done a fair bit of travelling to see wrestling shows, but the village of Chipping Sodbury on a rainy, foggy Friday night? Well, I have to be honest and say that the attraction was the main event, pure and simple – Kenny Omega v friend of TOWIS Zack Sabre Jr.

I know there’s a school of thought which criticises the use of imports on UK shows, but the fact of the matter is that if you’re a British wrestling fan attending shows regularly, you’ve seen pretty much all the best talent multiple times, and the chance to see them wrestle each other for the nth time isn’t necessarily going to get people to pay for a ticket. The use of imports – booked and used correctly, without over-expenditure – can be a draw, and there’s no denying that – I heard a couple of casual fans after the show enthusing, “I enjoyed the Canadian guy [Omega], he was something a bit different!”

And sure, some other matches on the bill looked interesting – the card also featured Sha Samuels v The Saint, and Dave Mastiff v Eddie Ryan, as well as Pete Dunne v Fujita ‘Jr’ Hayato – but it was the lure of seeing a couple of the world’s best that convinced me that being crushed into a car with six wrestlers and driving for three hours was a good idea.

I’m glad I went, too.