Shootin' with The Snapshot

NWS returned to action last Friday night with there brand of family entertainment. This show featured The American Dream Dusty Rhodes. For a lot of the old school people this was a big deal as Dusty is one of the great legends. NWS drew a nice crowd at the Keyport High School. The last time they were there they had Buff Bagwell and this time it was Dusty. Dusty had the opportunity to work Chris Candido. I was looking forward to this match cause I knew Candido would make this match special and he sure did. They had him do a promo earlier in the show that was incredible. He did a total Ric Flair promo with all his mannerisms. It is a shame more people do not take notice of Chris's abilities as he is the best at least on the indy circuit that has the total package. Some stars have charisma but no ring talent, some have ring talent but no charisma. Chris is lucky enough to have both plus has the look of a wrestler which most today do not. Any way he had a great match with Dusty. He sold huge for the bionic elbow and it just brought back memories of when Dusty was younger. Chris was doing a lot of Ric Flair spots in there and it was just amazing how he took care of the legend in the ring. Before the show they held a locker room meeting. I cannot divulge what was said there but what I will mention that I thought showed a lot of class and what had a lot of emotion was that out of respect for Dusty they had a moment of silence for the Big Boss Man. Dusty who was very close to Ray made a speech at his funeral and the locker room honored and showed respect for Dusty for that which I think is first class. Damian Adams had a classic with Mike Kruel. It is good to see the young generation stepping up and I am very high on these 2. NWS has a good crew of people working for them. A logo Gino and I came up with was " The Smarts Ignore Us But The Wrestling Fans Adore Us". With the family entertainment that they do they do not cater to the smarts which is probably why they are more successful than most in promoting. They have an older referee named Kenny Edwards. He is an asset to the company as not only does he serve as the senior referee but he does a lot of behind the scenes work as well. Whenever there is a legend present some of the backstage people including myself mark out for photos with the stars. After they got done ribbing me backstage for that I got to take my pic with Dusty. Dusty tried ribbing me as well as when we took the pic as he did a " goldust " to me. I will not tell you what it is but I will leave that to your imagination. Dusty was a gentleman and a class act toward me elsewise. A solid performance by everyone else on the show as well.

Something quite upsetting was brought to my attention recently. It was brought to my attention that I sold out of my old school beliefs. Just for the record I am old school and will always be old school. Recently, I took on a new client. Normally I deal with the legends but this time I took on a young generation Kid. He searched me out. I really did not want to take him on but I had a change of heart real quick. He was willing to be a sponsor for some matches. I was very leary. I told him what the deal was and he accepted it. I quickly found out what his abilities were. He understands where he is at also. I was very leary about over exposing him and wanted to protect him for as long as I can. Unfortunately, there is a reporter that has it in for him because it is seen that he is not doing things according to this non wrestling reporters code of wrestling ethics. He is not wrong in his beliefs but this is the wrestling business and only the strongest survive. While I am old school and have strong beliefs I am also a business man and understand a good business deal when I see one. I sell goods and services. My client wanted the services of some of the talent I represent and I am happy to provide that for him. If I do not do it someone else will. I had to clue in the others involved with the match so everyone is on the same page and no one gets hurt. Sometimes he goes off on his own for bookings but in the future he now knows to deal with my services. Everyone that I have dealt with understands the circumstances and is willing to do business. Even if for the wrong reasons. Again it was brought to my attention privately that some are unhappy about this. It was also written that some might go into business for themselves. When I am involved that will never happen. For those that might be complaining, if you were offered a chance to do business with my client and understood the benefits of doing business my way I am sure your attitude would change. Just remember that after a given show you might be accustomed to eating a hamburger but if you got a chance to eat filet mignon or lobster I am sure you would be grateful. If you do not comprehend that then let me try this analogy, if you like to drink beer after a show it would be better for you to drink an import like Heineken or Molson than a beer on tap or that piss water of a beer named Budweiser. I also hear that someone might like to shoot or take a liberty on my client which is a no no in this business. Do you realize how stupid that sounds. I understand that there will be negatives written but I will do my best to get my client up to snuff. I am taking full charge of his training. This does not mean I will be training him as I can think of many other people that are far more qualified than I to do that. I will be working with these people at future shows and those that come on board will be rewarded.

So in closing if you like filet mignon or that imported beer you will do the right thing.

Eric Simms
ESS316@aol.com
www.esspromotions.com