Dawning: The Age of Shadow

“The most difficult part of talking about her incomparable work is preserving the fourth wall.” – A Guy Named After Fruit

Once again I wish to write about my favorite person, wrestler, and woman, formerly known as Courtney Rush, once known as PJ Tyler. The immaculate goddess, the daemon assassin: Rose Mary.

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1. Professionalism: Through the nearly five years that I’ve watched this wrestler she has maintained an unfathomable level of professionalism, even in the face of unmerited lambasting from cowardly brazen disparagers looking to get a rise out of a celebrity.

Her tongue can be laser-sharp when she gets aggravated, and justly so, but she has this humility in the face of such disrespect which is a testament to her maturity and resilience. For those who work with her and those who can genuinely call her “friend” they must consider themselves blessed.

She meticulously preserves her anonymity, stopping intrusive fans dead in their tracks. Even with fans who aren’t prying, she is still vigilant in maintaining her rightful privacy. People ask her about personal business and she isn’t afraid to firmly and diplomatically straighten them out.

2. Creativity: Over the years we’ve seen many personas embodied by the perfect-face & flawless-body of this world class athlete. Starting with the highly underrated and quite under-appreciated PJ Tyler, a rockstar with style and eclecticism to the max. To the beloved revolutionary “Winner-pegger” Courtney Rush, arguably the greatest characterized professional wrestler that’s ever been created. She was limitless, vivacious, charismatic, and the strongest of all the incarnates.

My heart was broken (again) at the proclamation of her being “dead” by the latest persona, RoseMary. Speaking of the devil’s superior, the current and most esoterically sound characterization is known as RoseMary, a clever reference (presumably) to the storied character that bore the seed of Satan.

This new persona which debuted the twenty-sixth of January of two thousand and sixteen on Impact Wrestling, has been extremely propitious and steadily becoming her most recognizable work to date.

3. Adroitness: I could very well write an entire blog about the “cleverity” of this woman. I use the term deft a lot when describing her ideas, not just because that’s my favorite band but because she is the deftest. One of the deft ones if you will (and I have) of her craft. Her reinvention of herself almost seems dangerous. I remember listening to an interview where she mentioned an advantage to starting her career at a later age than commonly seen, siting an already established maturity level as the advantage.

Each character has had such a rich personality that her fans have loved every single one of them. Personally, I will always love Courtney. But PJ was rad’er than people gave her credit for, and Rose Mary’s just way out there. A bit boxed-in as far as her actual wrestling style but very appealing to the masses.

What I meant by “boxed-in” is something I noticed during a match with Toni Storm at WXW in Germany. In the match I noticed Rose Mary pausing to do the intimidation tactics, and then there’s the mist, and then the snarling at the referee: all super cool stuff, but also somewhat limiting.

Think back to Rush, during her matches she didn’t do those things because they weren’t part of that personality, but she did do more classic wrestling. Just to be clear, this isn’t a complaint about Rose Mary but rather an observation.

Think back to ’91 ‘Taker, how he moved slowly and was really never knocked down to the mat, and never showed emotion during. All that was awesome, but it was limited when you compared it to the ’96 version of ‘Taker (my favorite) especially in that great match with BDC Diesel. And then compare those with this recent ‘Taker, he shows a wider range of motion and maneuverability now.

Rose Mary is still in her infancy, the personality still has much time to be fine-tuned, if her creator sees fit to do so. She’s really darn-near perfect as it is, fleshed-out exquisitely in her social media verbiage and promo videos.

4. Gratefulness: Some celebrities, entertainers, popular people will have this air of haughtiness about them, seeing themselves as far above the fans that idolize them. This is not so, when it comes to this individual. She takes the time (and utilizes the integrity) to acknowledge her fans, and express gratitude for their support and advocacy.

Recently I’ve watched the Smash Wrestling event entitled ‘Something Different’ where she wrestled Penelope Ford. After the match, a pint-sized fan sitting in the front row had what was frankly the absolute sweetest moment I’ve ever seen in this sport.

Fan art, graphics designs, music videos, even tweets of praise and exaltation: nothing is missed. She takes time out of her unimaginably busy schedule to show her appreciation for her fans. That’s kind of rare with such a highly demanded talent as she.

With so many people vying for her attention you would think that she would just give up and ignore everyone, but she selflessly takes the time to respond to her fans.

5. Athleticism: Watching her in-ring performances you can’t help but marvel at her abilities. Once proclaiming herself to be “not graceful at all” she has contradicted that self-assessment with nine years of study-worthy matches, irresistible physical appearances, and ingenious promo material.

Her words, her words are on a different level of brilliance. And this’s coming from me, a guy who’s been writing since she would’ve been in college. Inspirational would be an understatement, she is beyond influential. One day, I will cast her in my written films where she will play the starring role.

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Follow the leader:
on twitter: @WeAreRosemary
on instagram: @wearerosemary

In The Company of Dignity

Recently, professional wrestler & pod-caster supreme, Mr. Colt Cabana released an episode of his podcast ‘Art of Wrestling’ featuring one of my three favorite people & favorite-favorite wrestlers. I finally got to listen to it, and now I’m going to give my invaluable perspective on it.

I’ve been inspired by this individual (his guest) she has been extremely kind to me and forgiven me when I was a different person. After listening to what she has gone through, the trails and adversity she’s had to face and how she has dealt with it all: I now know why The Creator brought her to my attention nearly five years ago. Let’s just say that we have more in common than I thought. She has this humility and integrity that I don’t see so often, she and the other two who I hope will be interviewed by Mr. C. someday.

To face such ignorance from people that don’t even know her, and so much aspersion from people who’ve never even met her, and still maintain this dignity and maturity that she does: is nothing short of inspiring. She doesn’t know it, but she has inspired me to being more mature & less disagreeable. She’s been a real blessing, as the others have but with her there’s this commonality that exists.

Please check out this episode of ‘Art of Wrestling’ so far it is my favorite since Mr. Punk’s first sit-down. Major props to this lady, this wonderful spirit enclosed in an amazing body (hope that didn’t sound creeptacular) and my endless respect.

Art of Wrestling: Episode 338

The Rising Elite

Although I’ve written about this for a few years already, I’d like to talk about it now. How “women’s wrestling” rekindled my love for professional wrestling. I put quotations on the phrase because I am one who prefers to call it wrestling only. I don’t use the term “diva” either, as wrestler is enough.

These females are equal, some better, and some worse than the male wrestlers. So I don’t use a different term to imply that it’s a different concept. But, I do tend to favor the women more so than the men, but that’s because it has always been my preference to see strong women portrayed. I’ve seen many strong men, so it’s more of a commonality, making strong women more exotic to mainstream.

As a small child I loved wrestling, but I drifted away from it. Ironically during the time a certain video game was released in nineteen-ninety two. I stopped watching, and developed a disdain for it. Keep in mind, I was not aware of independent wrestling at the time. Fast forward about three or four years, and I’m playing a video game entitled ‘WrestleMania’ ironically developed by the same company who made the aforementioned fighting game that accompanied my withdrawal from wrestling.

I became interested and was informed that I could see these characters every Monday night. Flipping through the channels one Monday evening, I came across a blonde-haired woman suplexing a Japanese woman with very tall hair. I became intrigued. For he next six years, I would swear by wrestling but the majority of them would be male. My favorite was The Hitman, whom I saw as “Real” in comparison to the others.

I would faithfully enjoy this thing called wrestling, right up until I began seeing things that I found distasteful and uncomfortable to watch. I sat through necrophilia, sodomy, simulated sexual assault, and even the extraction of a hand from the vaginal cavity of an elderly woman. All of with I personally found to be disgusting, I remained a faithful viewer, ready to defend it at the drop of a hat. But it was the moment I saw The Innovator of Violence eat a handful of his own vomit, that I asked myself: “Why am I watching this?”

Fast forward several years later, and having been away from it but only watching the big pay-per-view matches, I saw a man who captured my attention. He had initials for a first name, and professed himself to be drug free. I began watching again briefly, and was surprised (and relieved in a way) to see a different atmosphere. More focus on wrestling, and less interest in grossing me out. I was pleased, but not as enthusiastic as I once was.
Low and behold, during a very (very) dark time in my life, I went searching for “Chun-Li Cosplays” on YouTube one day. I found a video of 5he character in a wrestling ring, the light ray emerged, and the angelic harmony could be heard. What was this? I had discovered Independent Wrestling.

Watching that Chun-Li match lead me to something called Shine Wrestling, which lead me to something called Shimmer. My life was literally changed, as I now felt even more enthusiastic about professional wrestling than I did years ago. These women were amazing, so athletic, so fast, so skilled, so creative. Their style, their ingenuity, their personas, I was overwhelmed by it all. Three became my favorites in particular. I don’t want to put them on the spot here because two of them are quite scary, and the other is like Sarah Connor.

For almost five years now, I have been watching all of these women whom I’ve dubbed ‘Indy Goddesses’ because they embody the purest sense of independence in their craft. Thanks to these women, my love for this craft of professional wrestling has become absolute. They have shown me an authenticity that up until five years ago, I didn’t know existed. So, I have had the pleasure and privilege of watching independent wrestling (the purest form of wrestling) unfurl and continuously gain recognition.

The Deft Ones of Their Craft

As a lifelong (nearly) fan/admirer of the craft that is Professional Wrestling, I have seen many different practitioners perform. Many from the brilliance of their own creative mind, and some with the inspiration of others. Some original, and some eclectic, but usually noticeable in some manner be it positively, or negatively.

As a fan I had to learn my place especially on Social Media, and realize that I needed to address and approach them as their personas. Some fans might use the phrase “playing along” but I am reluctant to out of respect to this being the wrestler’s livelihood (or significant hobby) in fact, the wrestlers I adore are independent and it is most definitely their livelihood, rather than just a “for fun only” hobby. Lord knows I try to keep from overstepping my boundaries, but I’m afraid I slip up every known and then.

But thankfully, I have had the blessed pleasure of interacting with the very mature, very dignified and humble people. People who, despite having “blue checks”, still haven’t let their success go to their heads. They haven’t lost touch with reality, humanity, and their integrity, even the one that gets super-deep into character. She gets so deep into character, satan has to look down at her. But you know what, she is one of the most pleasantly thoughtful people I have ever virtually-met.

She knows how to remain her person and separate that from her professional personal, and that’s one of (if not the) most wonderful attributes about Professional Wrestlers. Of course it’s fun to maintain a character during an unexpected time, I do it quite often myself.
But sometimes you enjoy seeing your favorite being normal. I’ll never forget that picture of Luna Vachon driving a truck. I remember thinking: “God she’s beautiful, and just a normal lady!” That was some years ago, but today I get to see that still.

Let’s take two of my three favorite-favorites for example, one of whom I mentioned previously as getting so deep into character. One of them is frightening, and the other is horrifying. They both give me the feeling that my days are number, and certain death is imminent. But you know what, these are two of the kindest, generous, forgiving, empathetic people.

The third’s persona isn’t really known for intimidation, but when she’s crossed, folks get crucified. She doesn’t have a mean-streak, she has a mean reckoning when she gets good & ready. I won’t name these three, ’cause I’m too young to die, but they know who they are. 🌹 😜 💀

A Vessel of TriPolarity

 For about three-plus years I have watched an athelete transform herself through characteristic metamorphosis, and divide herself into three personas. This is not an easy feat, and it requires great alchemical knowledge.

Only a spirit of the most immaculate creativity could perform at such a high calibur.

In the beginning, the young child sought to rock her way into solving the aged puzzle of antiquity in squaring the circle. She faced brutish opposition, and obscure detraction but she did not give up.

Literary legend connotes an inspiration from the beloved southwestern heritage but this is only known to her. Continuing her progression, she made strides in furthering her magnetic allure. Many windows were opened, many inhabitants complied. A demand became evident.

It is unknown what disruption occurred but the young child would come into the space of a young adult, were she would notice an overthrowing was needed in order to alter the construct of her surroundings. And thus, an urgent haste of strong flowing energy, grace, skill, and purity had grown.

From northern to western, and from eastern to uncharted areas the young adult would carry herself from one realm to another. Solidifying herself as the epitome of magnetism, soon gaining the attention of the solitarius one. Deeming her to be a goddess of pure independence.

After creating a creating a respected reputation for herself, the now young woman’s light would waver softly among the gaze of countless Windows. Her flesh would violently break into pieces-any form of opposition, no matter how brutish of experienced they were. What would lay in wait for the young woman?

Poised and prepared to make an effect or influence in the heavily critiqued but passionate southern realm, a new necessity for her alchemic wisdom had arrived. The young woman would shape her virtue, and create her own absence of light.

And now, the infinitely adored elite goddess of independence strongly holds the reins of her three forms with humility, grace, and integrity.

Fanaticism Aspiring Decadence

Some fans only like an individual because they stimulate an angst in them. And some just want attention from an individual who’s more popular than they are. This may be the reason behind some fans who constantly Tweet and Tag popular individuals.

I use the word maybe, because some individuals don’t get to see what is shared with them, so they end up missing it and the fan doesn’t get a reaction, so they send it again.
But then there are the more worrisome Fans who think they are being ignored by said individual, forgetting how cluttered the individual’s Notifications may be. It is important to avoid the sport of Conclusion Jumping. Sometimes we go for the gold.

This is sometimes presumed by Fans because they will see other fans who make multiple tweets daily, receive an acknowledgment of some sort. This can leave the Fan to assume that their share was seen, but not well received.

Then here are those fans who are easily disconcerted and will began disparaging, or heckling, the individual if they are displeased. These are the fans who aren’t truly admiring of the individual, but are instead only amused by a particular aspect of that individual.

Let’s use an example of Gaming: There are Gamers who play multiple types of video games, and then there are people who just play one type of game.

There are Fans who love the individual, even that which they do not know of the individual personally, but then there are some fans who only like the way they look or the persona which they portray. That goes for both Male, and Female fans.

Some guys only watch for the purpose of ogling, and some girls only watch for the purpose of vicariously obsessing over that individual.
Some guys only watch for the purpose of vicariously obsessing over the individual, and some girls only watch for the purpose of ogling the individual. Then some of us just watch it because we love it to life.

This being their choice, it is still a different motive behind their fanaticism and the others who watch with respect, admiration, and reverence. And yes, one type of Fan can be better than another type of fan.

Usually the Fan who truly respects an individual, will not turn on them for any reason. They will not heckle and lambast the individual for making a career change, or some type of persona alteration. Some Fans are more than fanatics, some are also admirers.

Out of the Abundance

I frequent Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. These sites allow individual users to connect and communicate with one another, with such means as Text, Video, and Direct Messaging. Most people on these sites tend to use Aliases or nicknames to identify themselves among the public.

This format is often used by celebrities in order to have an open connection with their fans, admirers, and also their critics, and hecklers. I follow the athletes and the musicians whom I consider to be my most favorite and my own personally admired.
I’ve been doing this for about four years, and originally I intended my Twitter page to be dedicated to my Gaming Profile, and only used for Game related topics. But something changed, when I discovered Independent Wrestling.

At the time of this discovery, I had only recently began watching Professional Wrestling again, after a lengthy hiatus brought about by the repulsion of vulgarity and crudeness in the content of a major televised promotion.
What drew me to this fresh and new Indy Circuit, was stumbling across a few young wrestlers who were dressed up as video game characters, two of whom where my favorite Capcom characters. One was The Strongest Woman in the World, one had on Zelda colors, and the other was a Member of S.T.A.R.S. I was intrigued, to say the very least.

After doing some extensive research on them, via Internet search, I began watching their matches and following them on the Social Media sites, consistently gaining interest in their respective craft, and noticing a clear difference in what they were doing, versus what I had seen others do before the hiatus. To shorten this long story, I’ll just say that over the course of a year, I became a die hard Independent Wrestling fan, and an avid admirer of these three women.

Today, I am blessed to have communication with them, and I’ve even gone back to drawing and editing because of them, constantly making stuff to show my adoration for them. I am thankful for these athletes, these people, these professionals. Their kindness, tireless efforts, and empathy to those of us who may be a little different, is truly a testament to their integrity and their humility.

So, which this blog entry I would like to say to them, if they get time to read this (super-duper busy, they are) thank you guys for being you.

Love ya, sincerely “A guy named after fruit.” ^_^

Decomposition of Mediocrity

There is nothing like a good solid team in Professional Wrestling. From the Hart Foundation, to the Lucha Family. From Valkyrie, to the NWO. And from Degeneration X, to the inspiration for this blog: Decay.

What drew me to Decay was one of my favorite wrestlers (Courtney Rush) and her debut on a major televised promotion. For a little over a month now, I have watched her work with Crazy Steve and Abyss to form a unique, somewhat nostalgic union (nostalgic for us Millennials) called Decay.

After watching there creativity in the ring, their most impressive moments come from their promos. Speaking in a quasi-shakespearean manner and backed by a grounded Marilyn Manson theme, these three operate as one with a chemistry that is literally unlike anything you have ever seen in or out of this craft.

From their mannerisms, to the trembling of their hands, you often forget that you’re watching a televised sporting event and begin to see it as a glimpse into a tormented mind of some sort.

Thankfully the three are involved in a promotion where they are allowed to push the proverbial envelope, and present an uncanny tone, a unique image, and a mature yet intriguing ambiance. Something that us older fans can appreciate, and the younger fans can be drawn to.

Check your local listings and tune into the ‘Pop’ network on Tuesday nights to witness this unrelenting expression of authenticity.

An Anarchic Desire

First, let me lay the foundation: One of the wrestlers who I follow on Social Media has wrestled various “Hardcore” typed matches, Weapons, Blood, Expletives, etc.

Recently this individual was in the middle of a match which partially took place within the audience, a crowd of hormonally-charged, possibly inebriated Males. There was video footage of this occurrence, and it looked similar to a Bar Fight (which I’m sure is the idea) among these two professionals.

However, something would happen that was completely inappropriate. A member of the audience threw what looked to be a glass bottle at one of the wrestlers (the one who I follow) appearing to hit his face. The audience began chanting an enticement to physical retaliation, but the wrestler remained profession in keeping his composure and continuing her work.

Hardcore wrestling is nothing new to me. I grew up with ECW, then XPW (before it got nasty) and some Japanese Wrestling tapes. Having been a demented & desensitized child who was raised on Mortal Kombat, and Fist of the North Star I am no stranger to gore.

But as I began to question things I began to lose the allure of it. So the type of atmosphere, as euphoric and disturbing as it is, comes as no shock to me.

What appalls me is the blatant disrespect of audience members who throw objects, spit saliva, or physically assault the professionals. This is unacceptable and I can only assume that there is an infrastructure put into place for the rectification of these violations.

I often wonder if it’s the atmosphere, alcohol, or the just an anarchic desire to disrupt the show.

Heckling is one thing, an immature, pointless, cynical thing. But throwing objects, anything other than a streamer at the wrestler’s entrance, is unacceptable.

A Reinvigoration of the Craft

I grew up watching Televised Professional Wrestling in the late 1980’s. During that time I watched one Promotion in particular. As I became older and a certain Fighting Game was released in 1992, I became disinterested in Professional Wrestling. I would flip through channels on Monday night, see Wrestling, and snarl at the screen in disregard.

Somewhere around late December of 1995 I found myself flipping channels yet again, this time seeing a blonde haired woman wrestling a Japanese woman with a rather large spike in her hair. For some reason I became entranced in these two laying into each other. 

To make this extremely long story short lets just say that I became a Die Hard “No explanation needed” fan for the next 5 years. Falling off and losing interest after seeing The Innovator of Violence eating his own vomit out of a bucket. This forced me to ask myself “why am I watching this?” So I stopped for a good 11 years, this time keeping tabs by watching one specific Pay Per View every year. 

In late 2011 I began watching frequently again, and one day while searching Chun-Li Cosplay on YouTube I came across a Thumbnail photo of The World’s Strongest Woman in a wrestling ring? I was entranced again, this time by a dark haired woman dress in the exact identical attire as my favorite Street, fighter. So I decided to do some extensive independent research (Google) and discovered a group of women & something that would ultimately change my life: Independent Wrestling.

After discovering the super awesome lady dressed as Chun-Li and her Filmography, then coming across another divine woman dressed as my favorite Resident Evil character I found my first introduction in to Indy Wrestling (which I’ve affectionately dubbed Gourmet Wrestling because of the hard work & authenticity which comprises it) and this first introduction was Shine Wrestling. I instantly returned to that feeling I got at 12. 

For the next 3 years I would develop a new respect and a definite admiration for what up until then had been presented as a “Product” but now I see it differently. Now, I see it as a Craft. 

Tonight, after patiently awaiting an Independently Promoted event, I realized something: Independent Wrestling does not have the budget of Major Promotions but the creativity, authenticity, and pure athleticism that Independent Promotions embody: are incomparable. The independent promotions are collectively responsible for renewing my interest in Professional Wrestling, I am certain that I am not the only one.

To each Independent Promotion I’ve watched in these three years, and the Wrestlers I’ve come to respect who frequent them: My absolute respect, admiration, and adoration. Your work is unparalleled. There is no “hats off” Emoji but these words should convey the message.

– B.
Shine| http://www.shinewrestling.com/

Shimmer| http://shimmerwrestling.blogspot.com/

Smash| http://smash-wrestling.com/ondemand/

Queens of Combat| http://combatqueens.com/

Slamming Ladies| http://www.slamminladies.com/

AAW PRO| http://aawrestling.com/

AIW| http://www.aiwrestling.com/

Resistance Pro| http://www.resistancepro.com/rpro-tv/