Mania!!!

Yes wrestling is pre-determined but in it's purest form it's a work of art. It combines athletic ability with story telling in a way no other form of entertainment does. You have a wide range of characters, you have the good guys and bad guys or in wrestling terms faces and heels. You have the high flyers, the technical geniuses, the powerhouses, the ones who can't actually wrestle (yes they do exist just look at anything involving The Great Khali) it's a proper mash up and I love it!

We used to have traditions when I was at uni that we would drink in The Park until about 10pm then rush over to Phil's or Andy's and about 15 of us would pile into a tiny living room and watch the pay per view whilst consuming copious amounts of alcohol and snacks. Once a group of friends hired out a a bouncy castle and held our own version of a Royal Rumble, which as you can expect ended up in a variety of injuries. We had marathons sessions on the Smackdown computer games, making customised characters and even made our own belts...yes we were sad but in a happy way! My alter ego El Extremo Magico was a high flying, face painted daredevil who had a background where he was born in the UK but went to Mexico to find his inner luchre libre, whose finishing move was the Swanton bomb in honour of my favourite wrestler at the time Jeff Hardy and held numerous titles. 

As I got older and wiser I realised that Jeff was what is known as a spot merchant, he did insane stunts and got over but wasn't that great an actual wrestler and his mic skills were practically non existent. I grew to love the likes of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens, people who could talk but actually deliver in the ring as well. I look back now and see this as me maturing and realising what real skill looks like. Jericho especially, he's stayed relevant in a cutthroat industry for the better part of 30 years, changing his gimmick and style with the times from his early days in AAA in Mexico, through ECW, WCW, WWE, NJPW, AEW and ROH (lots of letters there that non wrestling fans will probably have no clue about!)

This year it's a little different for me, one of my all time favourites AJ Styles has retired and is rightfully taking his place in the hall of fame. I could wax lyrical about his feuds in TNA, New Japan and WWE, about how he could put a great match on against any opponent. If I wanted to show someone how good wrestling can be I'd show his triple threat match against Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels for the X-Division title in TNA. I still watch this match regularly and think how did they not seriously injure themselves or each other during the contest. His matches against Shinsuke Nakamura in Japan are some of the best I've watched. His WWE run was just as good and he recently had his retirement match at the 2026 against Gunther. 

It made me think of how my appreciation of things has changed over the years. Back when I was younger I was all about the moment, the high spots like Jeff Hardy used to give me. That Swanton bomb off the ladder onto a prone Bubbah Ray Dudley, the running of the rails into a chair shot, they all looked good and took a great deal of courage if not skill. Whereas with AJ and his accomplishments you could see the level of skill he had, he made moves that were difficult look simple. Everyone who has ever worked with him has said that he was one of if not the best they shared the squared circle with. 

I've learnt that skill is better than the showing off, it  shows more about you when you are appreciated by your peers and I like to think I am. I don't want to sound over confident here but I know I'm good at my job and like to think people think that as well. I work hard and so did AJ, he honed his craft and at the end of his career, we as fans can say that he was one of the best ever to lace up the boots.