| VIEW FROM INSIDE THE RING |
| Copyright © Georgia Wrestling History, Inc. All rights reserved. |
PRO WRESTLING: 1978 vs. 2008
– Rob Adonis
December 19, 2008
In the past few days, I have been able to listen to the general commentary of several “veterans� of the ring and found myself
thinking, “What a bunch of ‘Tom Foolery!� Before I dive into the given topic, you should know a bit about me.
I was trained in the application of the craft of the greatest sport in the world in 1999. I am a wrestler who falls between the “young and
super-fast-paced … and the older and more methodically paced worker.� I learned the latter of the two first. The former of these
options came much later in my career. In the late 90s, I began with a great group of very talented guys who have accomplished so much
in their careers and I am so proud of each of them. Jimmy Rave is the most famous member of the “Class of ’99�. Unless
you don’t have electricity, you must know of Rave’s success. Locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally – Rave is living
his dream, and I count it as a privilege to be friends with him.
Between 1997 and 2000, Kory “Rainman� Chavis, Sal Rinauro, Jason Cross, Iceberg, Shaun Banks, Cru Jones, A.J. Steele,
Jimmy Rave, Sonny Siaki, Frankie Valentine, and I all knocked out our first professional wrestling match. We are all still going strong.
Keep in mind these are just the guys who I had the pleasure of working with, learning from, and running the roads with. I don’t mean
to exclude anyone, but I now return to my original point of this expository piece of writing.
I see so much, and I hear even more. I believe that anyone who knows me would tell you that I am one who studies the art and craft of our
great sport. I love learning and applying new things in the ring and watching the business evolve. I find it hard to take seriously anyone
who makes disparaging comments about a match, or a group of solid workers, and then begins a sentence to justify it with, “I
remember when a shoulder tackle was a finisher.�
I heard a “veteran� wrestler recently say that there is no good talent left in professional wrestling anymore.
(Pause … while I get the bread, cheese, and mayo ready to go with all the bologna.)
Wow! Have you seen Jason Cross and A.J. Steele light it up with Cru and Shaun? Seen any bad Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinuaro matches
lately? Me neither. Sonny, Rainman, Frankie, and the mighty Iceberg are some of the most gifted wrestlers I have ever seen. A good
promoter could make a good living booking the talent of the late 90s alone.
Not to mention the guys who are from the early 90s; Bull Buchanan, Colt Derringer, David Young, Bobby Hayes, Chris Stevens, Bulldog
Raines, Johnny Swinger, Johnny Slaughter, Murder One, and the Southside Trash are all guys who are skilled, innovative, talented, and
flat out entertaining. Again I reiterate, “Have you seen a bad Bull Buchanan vs. David Young match?� I have, but then I woke up
and realized I was having a nightmare. These guys don’t have bad matches. None of them do … they just don’t.
I truly hate it for those who have retired from the sport and now have a negative perspective. Wrestling is something that people either
embrace or deface. I want to understand their position, but I want them to understand mine.
This is not a respect issue. I respect the “veterans� for their contributions to the sport. This is a fundamental understanding as to
the difference of opinion of one group to another. So many of the “veterans� spend so much of their time thinking of ways to fix an
industry that is not broken; it is simply different. Things in 2008 are different than 1978, or 1988, or even 1998, just as it will be different in
2018. The point is that the wrestlers of today face different obstacles and do it under different circumstances. I always hear the idea that
the “old school� was better because they drew more money and had bigger crowds. Let’s look at the facts:
1978 vs. 2008
Fans are smarter to the business, partly because of “veterans� who went and told all the secrets. Not all of them, but enough of
them decided to tell all. I knew much more than I should have known before I broke in. How many “shoot� interviews were
available in 1978? Currently, we have to find additional ways to draw in fans. It is not just good guy versus bad guy any more. In 1978,
none of the marks knew the “business�.
Fans are desensitized to the slams, bumps, and shots taken in the ring. Thirty years ago, less action and violence was shown on
television. Today, kids will see thousands of hours of violence before they graduate high school. Therefore, wrestlers have to be more
active in the ring.
Change is a part of any business. Ask a builder, plumber, car salesman, or a preacher if their industry is the same now as it was thirty
years ago. I bet the answer will be “no!� In ministry, the message does not change, but the delivery does. It has to. The day you
become numb to change is the day you step out of the parade as a participant and begin to watch as it goes by you. Change should be
embraced. It should be seen as a new challenge to conquer, not a despondent point of discontent. Change will happen. The question is,
“Will you be left behind?�
There are simply more options for people to be entertained. There were five television channels on 1978 in black and white. If you even
had the option to watch wrestling on TV, you were fortunate. Wrestling fans had to go to the matches to see it. Now we have 599 TV
channels, the Internet, DVDs, Pay-Per-View, and numerous other forms in which to get our wrestling fix. Going to the match is more
optional for fans because of these new mediums for media.
In 2008, I had the pleasure to work in six of the top promotions in the region. Ultimate Christian Wrestling, NWA Anarchy, Rampage Pro
Wrestling, Great Championship Wrestling, Southern Extreme Championship Wrestling, and Prime Time Pro Wrestling are all locker
rooms that are stacked with talented workers who are dedicated to producing top-shelf wrestling and do it week in and week out. The
aforementioned talents are the ones who are living, breathing, sweating, and bleeding for the entertainment of the fans. All these guys
are the ones who are setting the pace and leading the locker rooms.
Too many times “veterans� attempt to put wrestling in a dust-proof capsule and they think that time will not be a factor. As they
comment on how things “used to be�, they pull out their iPod, get directions on their GPS, and shop on eBay. They are up-to-date
with everything except the very sport where they are viewed as the expert.
Wrestling is about one thing – entertaining. It is still about entertaining. I hear “veterans� say, “Back in my day it was about
wrestling.� No it was not. If it was actually about wrestling, you would be a professional freestyle or Greco-Roman competitor and this
conversation would not apply to you. I am not shooting down the guys of yesteryear. I love the classic wrestling match. However, I think
some of the “veterans� should look at things and hold the efforts of the current talent with a higher value. Wrestling today is not
just good, but it is great. Some of it is fantastic, but all of it is passionate.
– Rob Adonis
December 19, 2008
In the past few days, I have been able to listen to the general commentary of several “veterans� of the ring and found myself
thinking, “What a bunch of ‘Tom Foolery!� Before I dive into the given topic, you should know a bit about me.
I was trained in the application of the craft of the greatest sport in the world in 1999. I am a wrestler who falls between the “young and
super-fast-paced … and the older and more methodically paced worker.� I learned the latter of the two first. The former of these
options came much later in my career. In the late 90s, I began with a great group of very talented guys who have accomplished so much
in their careers and I am so proud of each of them. Jimmy Rave is the most famous member of the “Class of ’99�. Unless
you don’t have electricity, you must know of Rave’s success. Locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally – Rave is living
his dream, and I count it as a privilege to be friends with him.
Between 1997 and 2000, Kory “Rainman� Chavis, Sal Rinauro, Jason Cross, Iceberg, Shaun Banks, Cru Jones, A.J. Steele,
Jimmy Rave, Sonny Siaki, Frankie Valentine, and I all knocked out our first professional wrestling match. We are all still going strong.
Keep in mind these are just the guys who I had the pleasure of working with, learning from, and running the roads with. I don’t mean
to exclude anyone, but I now return to my original point of this expository piece of writing.
I see so much, and I hear even more. I believe that anyone who knows me would tell you that I am one who studies the art and craft of our
great sport. I love learning and applying new things in the ring and watching the business evolve. I find it hard to take seriously anyone
who makes disparaging comments about a match, or a group of solid workers, and then begins a sentence to justify it with, “I
remember when a shoulder tackle was a finisher.�
I heard a “veteran� wrestler recently say that there is no good talent left in professional wrestling anymore.
(Pause … while I get the bread, cheese, and mayo ready to go with all the bologna.)
Wow! Have you seen Jason Cross and A.J. Steele light it up with Cru and Shaun? Seen any bad Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinuaro matches
lately? Me neither. Sonny, Rainman, Frankie, and the mighty Iceberg are some of the most gifted wrestlers I have ever seen. A good
promoter could make a good living booking the talent of the late 90s alone.
Not to mention the guys who are from the early 90s; Bull Buchanan, Colt Derringer, David Young, Bobby Hayes, Chris Stevens, Bulldog
Raines, Johnny Swinger, Johnny Slaughter, Murder One, and the Southside Trash are all guys who are skilled, innovative, talented, and
flat out entertaining. Again I reiterate, “Have you seen a bad Bull Buchanan vs. David Young match?� I have, but then I woke up
and realized I was having a nightmare. These guys don’t have bad matches. None of them do … they just don’t.
I truly hate it for those who have retired from the sport and now have a negative perspective. Wrestling is something that people either
embrace or deface. I want to understand their position, but I want them to understand mine.
This is not a respect issue. I respect the “veterans� for their contributions to the sport. This is a fundamental understanding as to
the difference of opinion of one group to another. So many of the “veterans� spend so much of their time thinking of ways to fix an
industry that is not broken; it is simply different. Things in 2008 are different than 1978, or 1988, or even 1998, just as it will be different in
2018. The point is that the wrestlers of today face different obstacles and do it under different circumstances. I always hear the idea that
the “old school� was better because they drew more money and had bigger crowds. Let’s look at the facts:
1978 vs. 2008
Fans are smarter to the business, partly because of “veterans� who went and told all the secrets. Not all of them, but enough of
them decided to tell all. I knew much more than I should have known before I broke in. How many “shoot� interviews were
available in 1978? Currently, we have to find additional ways to draw in fans. It is not just good guy versus bad guy any more. In 1978,
none of the marks knew the “business�.
Fans are desensitized to the slams, bumps, and shots taken in the ring. Thirty years ago, less action and violence was shown on
television. Today, kids will see thousands of hours of violence before they graduate high school. Therefore, wrestlers have to be more
active in the ring.
Change is a part of any business. Ask a builder, plumber, car salesman, or a preacher if their industry is the same now as it was thirty
years ago. I bet the answer will be “no!� In ministry, the message does not change, but the delivery does. It has to. The day you
become numb to change is the day you step out of the parade as a participant and begin to watch as it goes by you. Change should be
embraced. It should be seen as a new challenge to conquer, not a despondent point of discontent. Change will happen. The question is,
“Will you be left behind?�
There are simply more options for people to be entertained. There were five television channels on 1978 in black and white. If you even
had the option to watch wrestling on TV, you were fortunate. Wrestling fans had to go to the matches to see it. Now we have 599 TV
channels, the Internet, DVDs, Pay-Per-View, and numerous other forms in which to get our wrestling fix. Going to the match is more
optional for fans because of these new mediums for media.
In 2008, I had the pleasure to work in six of the top promotions in the region. Ultimate Christian Wrestling, NWA Anarchy, Rampage Pro
Wrestling, Great Championship Wrestling, Southern Extreme Championship Wrestling, and Prime Time Pro Wrestling are all locker
rooms that are stacked with talented workers who are dedicated to producing top-shelf wrestling and do it week in and week out. The
aforementioned talents are the ones who are living, breathing, sweating, and bleeding for the entertainment of the fans. All these guys
are the ones who are setting the pace and leading the locker rooms.
Too many times “veterans� attempt to put wrestling in a dust-proof capsule and they think that time will not be a factor. As they
comment on how things “used to be�, they pull out their iPod, get directions on their GPS, and shop on eBay. They are up-to-date
with everything except the very sport where they are viewed as the expert.
Wrestling is about one thing – entertaining. It is still about entertaining. I hear “veterans� say, “Back in my day it was about
wrestling.� No it was not. If it was actually about wrestling, you would be a professional freestyle or Greco-Roman competitor and this
conversation would not apply to you. I am not shooting down the guys of yesteryear. I love the classic wrestling match. However, I think
some of the “veterans� should look at things and hold the efforts of the current talent with a higher value. Wrestling today is not
just good, but it is great. Some of it is fantastic, but all of it is passionate.
