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I live in Orlando and there doesn’t seem to be any future NXT TV taping dates scheduled for Full Sail. Has NXT TV officially moved to The Center Stage in Atlanta, GA?
No. The next several tapings are set for Center Stage, but when asked about the future of Full Sail during a media call before the Takeover: Wargames event, Triple H stated that it was a scheduling issue, nothing more. We have been told by sources at Full Sail that is the case as well and there should be a date in March or April there.
In your coverage of the Brad Stutts situation, you wrote, "To say that this was one of the last things I'd ever expected to be writing about would be massive, massive understatement." I was curious why you wrote this?
I wrote that because on a personal level, I'd known and spoken with Stutts, off and on, for over a decade as he was a regular fixture whenever I'd be in in Charlotte at the Legends Fanfests and the events surrounding that weekend. I considered him a talented and knowledgeable person when it came to an era of pro wrestling I am extremely passionate about. Stutts was someone who was very much the central figure that everyone was connected through in that local scene. He was very much a cheerleader for the talents in that area. Stutts was extremely well liked (as well as talented at what he did), so the last thing I ever expected to hear that Stutts, of all people, would end up being fired for, as CWF announced, "inappropriate behavior."
So, when I wrote it was the last thing I ever expected to be writing about, I was specifically speaking from a personal level. It wasn't something I saw coming or had an inkling of knowing it was coming. When I received a phone call about it, I initially thought someone was playing a practical joke.
I'll try to explain: If there's someone you see regularly at your job, who everyone likes and respects and is very good at what he does, you have a certain picture of that person in your head, even if you don't know what's going on in their lives or what their behavior is beyond where and when you interact with them. If you find out down the line that this person goes and gets themselves in a massive amount of trouble for something extremely stupid or disgusting, there's going to be a moment where you can't wrap your head around the fact that this happened, in your mind, seemingly out of nowhere.
When I wrote that line, I was still wrapping my head around the situation. I was still personally processing the situation, even as I was reporting on it. In hindsight, perhaps the line shouldn't have been there.
I will admit I was shocked about the situation, but I didn't soften or avoid the story because Stutts was involved. Stutts did not want to go on record with us. I asked him numerous times over numerous days. Sources close to CWF Mid-Atlantic did and I broke the story based on what we had learned after giving Stutts more than ample time to speak with us. I followed up the story appropriately as much as possible given who was willing to go on record with what.
Living in NYC, I am sure there are things I am not privy to when it comes to the local North Carolina independent wrestling scene - and there are a lot of people who didn't want to go on record with aspects of the story that were being said privately - so with the limitations of what was "fair game" to write about, I am fine with my reporting.
Stutts is done with pro wrestling, which is what he (and anyone else who acts in that matter) deserved to get. I don't write that because I feel any glee over the situation. That Stutts got what he deserved doesn't make anything a cause for celebration - it makes it an all around sad, f'd up situation that CWF didn't deserve to have to deal with. There was no one celebrating and happy (that I am aware of) at CWF Mid-Atlantic this week. They felt Stutts had crossed a line and could have hurt a company a lot of people spent many years building. They, were sad and angry, but they knew they had to deal with the situation and move on as a company. There was relief, yes, that they had extricated themselves from the issue, but there was no happiness. That's life - even when something sucks, you have to deal and move on, but it doesn't make the situation any less f'd up.
This was a f'd up situation. With that line, I was expressing my personal shock that Brad Stutts was at the center of the story, because he wasn't someone I ever expected to be. Perhaps I was personally unaware of things because it's been years since I attended a show in that area. Perhaps the Brad Stutts I interacted with changed or was never the person I thought he was. I don't know. Perhaps I shouldn't have been shocked, but I was. Perhaps the line shouldn't have been there, but it was, and hopefully now you understand why it was.
When did the "Wooing" for Ric Flair chops begin?
To the best of my knowledge, it actually started in the original ECW. Fans used to do the "Woo" at Shane Douglas when he was nailing (or being hit with) chops to get under his skin, since he had ragged on Ric Flair so much. That evolved into fans doing it whenever there were chops and eventually, it moved over to fans watching other promotions doing the same, similar to fans doing the "One Fan" back to the ring announcers, which originated with UK fans.
As a follow up question to the Slammy's being absent for the last 2 years... Do you think it had to do with the last one being the lamest one of all? Majority of the winners were part timers who didn't show up to accept and someone had to accept on their behalf. On another note, how would you book the Slammy's concept? I liked the old concept where it was like a reception.
It's quite possible that was the case. The concept just didn't work the last time around. I personally think they would be best served filming it in advance and presenting it as a special on the WWE Network.
Could Impact release a dvd or special of the Broken Hardys run? Seems like it would be a good way to monetize the footage at the right time.
They can, and in my opinion, should. There is obviously an audience there. I am really surprised their Global Wrestling Network doesn't have an entire section devoted to the Broken Universe. In my mind, if you own the asset, you should use it to your advantage. Impact under Anthem has yet to do so. Given that Matt Hardy and Ed Nordholm have made amends, I'd say it's time to put something together and hire Senor Benjamin to do wrap-around segments on the Compound with Vangard-1!
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