The Final Cut – No Wonder Wrestling Magazines Are Dying

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of The Final Cut. I have written three articles on backyard wrestling over the past month or so and the feedback is still coming in thick and fast, it seems that nearly every wrestling fan has a view to share on this subject. I even had my email account suspended because I got so many emails!

So if you have emailed me, regarding the subject of backyard wrestling, and I did not reply to you, I did get your email and I did read the whole thing but there were just too many for me to reply to everyone.

OK, with that nice apology firmly out of the way let us move on to what you all read this on a regular basis for, me making a complete ass of myself! OH YEAH!

This week’s column is a tad different from my normal run-of-the-mill columns where I normally vent steam and spleen about a wrestler, a promotion or something else concerning wrestling.

This week’s column does concern professional wrestling but instead of talking and writing about wrestlers and wrestling promotions this week I want to talk about wrestling magazines and journalists in particular.

Who said I do not offer any flexibility with my topics?

Professional wrestling magazines are a vastly popular publication these days, maybe not as popular as they were back in the 1990′s but they are still a very profitable entity amongst the average wrestling fan.

The majority of wrestling fans turn to these magazines and their journalists in a bid to read interesting and informative articles on their favourite wrestling stars, articles on certain aspects of the business and to find out what these writers think of the industry as it stands today.

But there is always one person that spoils it for these magazines.

Total Wrestling magazine have a fine collection of writers but the one self-professed so-called writer that lets them down is one Jon Farrer. Jon ran a wrestling show a few years ago and scarpered with the money when the ring failed to turn up

There is a story floating around that the owner of the ring, FWA’s referee Steve Lynskey, was ordered not to deliver the ring by the FWA board in a move that some say was taken in order to maintain FWA’s monopoly as Britain’s number one promotion.

No matter how Jon tries to explain himself or how the fans tell you what happened that is basically what it amounts to. He could have given everyone a refund but he chose to issue refunds to just his friends and a select few others, there are still hundreds of people without refunds.

Many people will not forget diabolical pieces of treachery such as this in a hurry, it happened about two years ago and people have still refused to even talk to Mr. Farrer. Some have even threatened to track him down and injure him!

In my opinion his column in Total Wrestling magazine is as laughable as his credibility as a wrestling promoter. Entitled ‘The Juicy Bits’ His column is split into two groups. The first is subtitled ‘Da Juice’ and the second section is titled ‘Da Bits’.

How can anyone take his views seriously when he cheats people out of their hard-earned money? In my view not only is having this “wrestling promoter” on their magazine laughable but it also diminishes their magazine and tarnishes their reputation.

Let me head over to Power Slam, a magazine that many turn to instead of Total Wrestling. Power Slam are rather quick to point out and jump onto the negative aspects of the wrestling business and some refuse to buy their publication for this reason alone.

But if you delve into their magazine you will find informative articles by journalists such as Greg Lambert, Anthony “I hate Chris Benoit” Evans, Fin Martin and so on.

But sadly, just like Total Wrestling magazine, Power Slam too have a writer who is dragging their publication down a peg or two on a regular basis.

Wayne Manor has written for the magazine for a while now and I used to enjoy his in your face columns, filled with humour and the odd bit of bile, but his act has grown stale and he has resorted to petty name-calling.

In their latest issue (issue 117) he attacked Mick Foley for coming back from retirement, despite the fact that there are many who have retired more times than Foley, he also attacked Chris Benoit about bitching and complaining.

Now please forgive me but when several people in the business voice the same opinion that Chris Benoit is the kind of guy who just gets on with things and does not wish to moan or rock the boat and then some bitter and cynical journalist says the opposite, who is going to be taken seriously?

I do not think Fin Martin should ask him to tone his column down I think he should tell him to get his coat and turn the light off as he leaves.

I apologise for the people who wanted to read my thoughts about wrestling, this was just something that I had to get off my chest. Next week I will resort to my normal column behaviour of talking out of my rectum, I promise!

Until next time.