Thursday night I headed over to Georgian Court University as they had there hooding ceremony. Once there I was put in charge of videotaping. There were a lot of good looking women who were graduating. They just started allowing men to go to that university. To my surprise and shock I notice a 6 foot 7 guy walking down the aisle in cap and gown. When he got a little closer it became evident and we both looked at each other for a second. The person I am referring to is TNT. He is one of the main staples of NWS wrestling. We greeted each other and made some small talk for about 2 seconds. I have to say that I am very proud of him for getting his BA ( bachelors degree in business ). I am always happy when someone from the family does well outside of wrestling. He made a comment to me about being a wrestler with an education. That sort of hit home a little for me. It should for you as well. It is very important to get a good education and get a skill to fall back on because once your done with wrestling you need to have something to fall back on. The ceremony lasted about 75 minutes and then I went out with my girlfriend and her parents for dinner.
The next day was the graduation. That lasted about 2 and half hours. One of the presenters talked about a story that sort of hit home for everybody that was there yours included as well. She talked about a time that she was in Seattle, WA for special Olympics and there was a 100 yard dash with the special Olympians. Once the gun went off and everyone took off running the race there was one kid that fell and started crying. What happened next had the majority of us all choked up with emotion. Instead of the rest of the special kids finishing the race they all went back to help the kid that fell. They picked him up and they all walked to the finish line together. I was thinking how can I apply this story to wrestling. This story is about unity and sticking together. Instead of everyone bashing each you should be happy when someone does good and see what can be done differently when someone does bad. Everyone can do there own thing and co exist. Remember this is a family with many extended branches. We all need to stick together if this business is going to succeed.
After the ceremony where I was very proud to see my girlfriend get her masters degree and TNT get his bachelors degree it was off to another meal with my in-laws.
I promised my girl I would give her this weekend. We constantly fight about me going to shows as she wants me to spend more time with her and she hates going to the shows. I told her I would try and give her 2 weekends a month but it looks more like 1 weekend a month.
Anyway I headed to Atlantic City with her as she loves to gamble. We hit Trump Taj Mahal. After going back and forth with the slot machines I finally lost. We took a nice stroll on the boardwalk as it was a beautiful day. After Trump we went to the Tropicana as I like that hotel and lost some more. Lucky for me I am not a big gambler so after a while we got tired and headed back to the hotel room. Its hard for me to go a day without listening to the Masked Maniac Hotline. I am such a Maniac A Holic. This hotline didn't disappoint as I was hoping to get caught up with the nights results. USA ran Friday and WWSA, SSCW, 3PW AND ECPW ran sat. The Maniac was talking about a fire at SSCW and the 20 some odd fans there. I think there is a problem with the promotion when Al Snow, Simon Diamond and Justin Credible are on the show and an embarrassing crowd shows up. ECPW ran an unadvertised show in Jersey City drawing a huge crowd I believe close to 1000 fans with some major names. I know how they pulled that one off but I wont get into it. Smoking Joe's once a year shows always do good. SSCW'S track record speaks for itself. If this promotion is going to survive then someone is going to have to help this promotion out big time. Simon is not the answer even though I believe he is a great talent and competent booker. They need someone to push the shows locally and sell tickets. Relying on ticket sellers is a time old tradition but is not the answer either. I hope SSCW can find someone locally to help get the word out.
I was also entertained by the on the spot coverage of the events going on outside of the show. Listening to the Maniac interview " DIAMOND LIL " about her sexual habits just had me rolling, but I didn't need to know that much about it.
Sorry to hear that 3PW drew a small house. They have a solid promotion with some great talent there. Hopefully they can get there attendance up in the future.
Also glad to see that USA PRO had a great show. NEW JACK will be a great addition there. After reading the results, it looks like they had some great things take place there. Also glad to see that KAMALA got over big there. I am good friends with him and its always good to see a friend to good. I should be back there for there September show.
On Sunday my girlfriend and I went to historic Smithville. They have some nice shops there. They also had there craft fair there this weekend. If you like sort of thing this is the place to go. Exit 48 on the Garden State Parkway. After that we went home as we were both tired.
Final thoughts
All in all a good weekend. I am very proud of my girlfriend and TNT.
Someone needs to help out SSCW or they wont survive long haul.
ESS316@aol.com
ERIC SIMMS