Welcome guys to my second blog here at Ministry Confessions and one that I hope you will all enjoy. What I thought I would do this time around is take a look at the WWE product. One of the things that I truly believe these days is that Vince McMahon has gone a little loopy, what I mean by that is going PG is fine and to be honest you don’t really notice anymore (apart from the EMT’s coming down to patch up a bloodied superstar) but the storylines make little to no sense and the pushing of future superstars is limited at best.
We all criticise TNA for no consistency in their stories but with Vince McMahon it always seems to go around the same certain people, Cena, Undertaker, HHH, Edge, Jericho even to a degree Rey Rey. Now whilst these guys are all talented performers (bar Cena!!) surely now is the time to elevate the younger talent in the company. These young superstars are literally the new building blocks of WWE, they are the ones who will be continuing to develop the organisation when Cena is in Hollywood (it will happen), when Hunter is back on an operating table, or when Mysterio’s mask finally disappears in to the great Mexican beyond. Let’s take a look at my top five WWE young superstars who deserve to be pushed as the future of the company:
The Miz:
What more can be said apart from AWESOME.... the Miz has come a long way since he first debuted in WWE as the cocky reality television star. In all honesty no one thought he would ever develop or became a credible WWE Superstar but he has done something which only a few before him have managed to achieve. He has taken his normal personality and magnified it by 12. All of the best and iconic WWE Superstars have done that, guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels even Hulk Hogan. A true superstar in my mind is someone who has the triple threat, that being a) ability to cut a promo, b) the look of a champion, c) the acting / charisma ability.
The Miz has all those qualities by the ton. Also he is finally getting a push, Martin and I called it a few weeks ago at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the MIz is now Mr MITB and I guarantee you that by year’s end he will be either the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion.
Sheamus:
“Hey fella” the familiar Irish tones of this new breakout star in the WWE. How many rookies for lack of a better term can say that they are a two time WWE Champion, and on both occasions beating future WWE Hall of Famers (John Cena and Randy Orton) to do it. Lee and I have met Sheamus on many occasions when he was based over here in the UK and I can honestly say that he is a genuine down to earth guy, who quite frankly deserves all the success he is getting. I remember a time when Sheamus visited our home town of Bournemouth, with an independent promotion who won’t be mentioned!!! Lee and I were at the Pavillion theatre doing work for our former show “The Squared Circle” to be honest we were only there because Kip James was in attendance, but still it’s always good to see British talent where possible. Sheamus walked up to us and introduced himself, something that we had never experienced when at shows; we asked him if he wanted to do an interview to which he agreed. The one thing I will never forget is that Sheamus was so accommodating and also professional when this was being conducted, but he was green and very nervous this you could tell, but he also wanted to make sure that everything he said was of the highest standard and at some points asked if we could re-record because it didn’t sound right!! When the bell rang and Sheamus started competing you could see even at that early stage in his career he was destined for greatness and he has done certainly that. A true credit to the Emerald Isle, my bet is that Sheamus will not be going anywhere and the future will be getting brighter for this Irish powerhouse.
Dolph Ziggler:
Ok I will be honest I am not a real big fan of Mr Ziggles, but what I will admit to is that he is a good worker and with the right push could be a major breakout star of World Wrestling Entertainment. He has produced some classic matches over the past year or so. Who can forget SummerSlam 2009 where he faced Rey Mysterio for the IC Championship, it was a classic dare I say it Cruiserweight match up, with all the high flying you could hope for. Even on the losing end what it did was give him a chance to show not only WWE management but also the WWE Universe that he can go in the ring with a veteran like Myseterio. I am pleased that Ziggler is now IC Champion he will have a great series of matches with Kofi, but I am concerned with the way WWE Creative works and the question does has to be asked just where will he go and what he will do after the feud is completed.
The Nexus:
“Your either Nexus or Against Us” that just about sums up what the Nexus is all about. This modern day version of the nWo are here to stay and despite coming up short at SummerSlam against Team WWE (Cena damn you) there push does not appear to be hurt too much. Each of the individuals who comprise this faction are excellent true performers who over the next 12 – 18 months will definitely turn themselves into champions. However as good as they all are the one man who truly stands out in my opinion is Wade Barrett.
Wade Barrett (Stu Sanders to us British wrestling fans) has come such a long way since WWE NXT first started. When Barrett made his WWE television I can honestly say I wondered what the hell WWE was thinking. This big eared Prince Charles wannabe had about as much charisma as an aardvark that had been squashed on the side of the M27. But and this is something I don’t like to say too often...I was wrong.
Barrett has turned into the true WWE Superstar, his performances on NXT were consistently the best, his promo skills have developed to equal the most experienced main eventer and more importantly his wrestling ability has made him what his NXT title says “the next breakout star of the WWE”. It is no secret that WWE thinks highly of Barrett and I honestly can see him walking out of a pay-per-view maybe even WWE Night of Champions in September as the new WWE Champion , in fact I will go on record now, the winner of the Six Pack Challenge out of Sheamus, Cena, Edge, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Barrett will be the Nexus leader himself.
So there you have it my pick of the five newest WWE Superstars (yes I counted Nexus and Barrett separately) who the WWE needs to develop further. There are others of course who need to have some kind of push Drew McIntyre, Christian, John Morrison even R-Truth to a degree but for some reason I don’t know if this will happen.
What are your thoughts and opinions on who the WWE should be focusing creative on, drop us an email at studio@ministryofslam.com or leave us a voice mail 020 8144 5736 (Skype TSCLEE1) with your thoughts on this and any views you have on television, pay per views or anything and everything.
Until next time, see you at ringside!!!
Old interviews
This probably won't be a very long blog, but I thought I should get something down even though it's been a really busy week. Of course the debut episode of Ministry Midweek Mass is now online, and I hope you all enjoy it. It was weird having to stick to a 15 minute timeframe but all in all it came out well.
I've been looking back at some of our old interviews, the ones that go way back to 2005. For what reason? I'm not saying yet, but it should be something you'll all like. The one interview that really made me think was a 2005 interview with Bryan Danielson when he was in the UK working for the FWA. I remember him having a great match with The Zebra Kid that day, and I caught up with him just minutes afterwards. To be honest I didn't know a huge amount about Danielson at that point, and was also very green in my interviewing technique so it wasn't an interview of the year candidate. I asked him where UK fans could see him next and he replied that he was heading down for a season of wrestling for All-Star at Butlins. BUTLINS. From Danielson to come from that to being arguably the hottest name in wrestling today really says something about his talent and drive. It was an honour to speak to the guy and I wish him nothing but the best in his WWE career.
That's it from me for this week, but make sure you listen to the awesome Paul Heyman interview over at http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/16/the-mma-hour-live-with-paul-heyman-in-studio/ and leave your thoughts. We'll be talking about it this week.
Bye!
I've been looking back at some of our old interviews, the ones that go way back to 2005. For what reason? I'm not saying yet, but it should be something you'll all like. The one interview that really made me think was a 2005 interview with Bryan Danielson when he was in the UK working for the FWA. I remember him having a great match with The Zebra Kid that day, and I caught up with him just minutes afterwards. To be honest I didn't know a huge amount about Danielson at that point, and was also very green in my interviewing technique so it wasn't an interview of the year candidate. I asked him where UK fans could see him next and he replied that he was heading down for a season of wrestling for All-Star at Butlins. BUTLINS. From Danielson to come from that to being arguably the hottest name in wrestling today really says something about his talent and drive. It was an honour to speak to the guy and I wish him nothing but the best in his WWE career.
That's it from me for this week, but make sure you listen to the awesome Paul Heyman interview over at http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/08/16/the-mma-hour-live-with-paul-heyman-in-studio/ and leave your thoughts. We'll be talking about it this week.
Bye!
Wrestling and Deaths - A tribute to Lance Cade
As wrestling fans, we’re used to turning on the television every week and watching talented men and women perform for us. These athletes literally give their all on a daily basis to entertain not just the live crowds, but also millions of worldwide watchers. They enjoy hearing us boo when one performs a dastardly deed or, on the flipside, our loving cheers for our heroes who battle the evil doers.
What we don’t see though is the suffering, pain and anguish that these performers go through in the backstage area. The injuries, the continued travel schedule, the high levels of potential depression due to being away from their families, children and loved ones… all of this mounts up and our heroes revert to the only thing that they know in order to get through: that being prescription medication, alcohol and steroids.
But if that’s the case, you may be asking why they continue to be involved in this industry. Is it because of the pay cheque? Is it a god syndrome? Well, the answer is no to both. They do this job for each and every one of us, whether we’re a member of the WWE Universe, the TNA Nation or even the MOS Republic. These men and women come out to entertain and, as mentioned previously, to hear the roar of our opinion.
One thing that’s becoming increasingly obvious is that the younger generation of wrestling superstars aren’t being trained well enough in the psychology of the business to handle the stress, pressure and emotional intensity that comes with being a wrestling superstar. This is something that needs to be addressed by all major wrestling promotions before we lose any more up-and-coming superstars.
Sadly, for one former superstar, any change will come to late. Just two weeks ago, the wrestling world lost one of its most promising future performers in Lance McNaught (Lance Cade). Cade, who was a graduate of the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, had an up and down career with WWE. He gained success in tag team action after becoming a multiple WWE Tag Team Champion with Trevor Murdoch, but for some reason could never gain success in the singles ranks.
Cade made his pro debut in 1999, spending time in Japan where he honed his craft before being signed to a WWE developmental contract. Upon his signing with WWE, he was sent to two of the regional developmental companies - those being Memphis Championship Wrestling and Heartland Wrestling Association.
It was in the HWA where Cade really began to shine and make a solid name for himself in the business. He teamed up with Mike Sanders to capture the HWA Tag Team Championships by defeating former WWE Superstar Val Venis (Sean Morley) and Steven Bradley in February 2002. It was an interesting pairing, as Sanders – who was a former WCW Superstar – and Cade broke up on the same day as their tag title win. The following week on HWA Television, Cade went over Sanders in a one-on-one contest and was given possession of the tag team titles, which had been vacated just one week prior following the teams’ split. He chose Steven Bradley as his new tag team partner and together they defended the titles against all challengers. Things weren’t rosy for the new tag team, as they had trouble in defeating the challenge of former WWE Superstars Hugh Morrus (also an HWA trainer) and Raven. In March 2002, the team were defeated by the WWE pairing for the tag titles, although they regained them just one week later. In April 2002, Cades first (and former) tag team partner Cody Hawk returned to the company and teamed up with the Ice Cream Man to face off for the Tag Team Titles, which they successfully won. Cade and Bradley continued for over a month to try and regain those titles, but to no avail.
In May 2002, Cade moved into the singles division of HWA and faced off against Johnny ‘The Bull’ Stamboli and became the new HWA Heavyweight Champion. He held the title for two months before losing it to Stamboli on 20 July – however, Cade would regain the title on the same night and hold it for two days before losing to Cody Hawk.
Cade then moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling, after HWA was dropped as a developmental territory by WWE. Cade, who still looking to forge a career in the tag team ranks, aligned with Rene Dupree and manager Kenny Bolin and together, the three remained as a unit for most of their runs with OVW. During this time, they were a part of the OVW Tag Team Title tournament, successfully beating Matt Morgan and BJ Payne, but losing out to the Disciples of Sin in the tournament finals. Cade and Dupree did have another shot at the titles at OVW Spring Break-Out in 2003, facing off against champions the APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) but, not surprisingly, they came out the losing end.
For the next five years, Cade worked on the main WWE roster facing off against some of the company’s biggest tag team competitors including La Resistance (Sylvan Grenier and Rene Dupree), The Dudley Boys, Evolution and Booker T & Goldust. It was during the latter part of his WWE run that he found most success when he teamed up with Trevor Murdoch, as he became a multi time WWE Tag Team champion, gaining success on both the Raw and Smackdown brands.
The team’s formation officially happened in September 2005 when they faced off against former Tag Champions The Hurricane and Rosey. By securing a win here, they were officially on their way and at WWE’s Unforgiven pay-per-view, they won their first WWE Tag Team Championships. They became fighting champions, defending the titles against all comers for over a month, until they faced the combination of the Big Show and Kane who promptly beat them for the titles at WWE Taboo Tuesday. Following the loss, they began to be squashed by other teams on the roster until eventually splitting in November of that year.
During the remainder of Cade’s WWE run, he was left in the midcard mix, unable to make a definite name for himself. His WWE release came in October 2008 following an incident that occurred on an international fight as the WWE Raw roster were returning from a live tour event here in the United Kingdom. Former VP of Talent relations and the voice of Raw, Jim Ross, stated that Cade “made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment" and that it was this mistake that was instrumental in his release. Ross referenced that Cade had suffered a seizure on the flight and needing emergency medical care as a result.
Just one week following his release, he began to accept independent bookings and reunited with his former tag team partner Trevor Murdoch. Cade performed in such promotions as IWA Mid South and NWA Showcase, as well as returning to Japan in December 2008 to team with René Duprée for the Hustle promotion. They appeared as masked wrestlers, Dyna and Might Sharpe, which was designed to be a parody of the Sharpe Brothers. The team defeated Tenyru and Koshinaka both nights. Five nights later, they had their third and final match with Tenyru and Koshinaka in a losing effort. Following this tour Cade later returned as "Cowboy" Cade, his former WWE character, on February 19 at Korukuen Hall to defeat the tag team of Tajiri and Akebono when Cade pinned Tajiri. On February 22, Cade defeated Akebono in a singles match in the main event of Hustle's debut show in Chiba, Japan.
In September 2009, Cade was re-signed by WWE and sent down to Florida Championship Wrestling. Although the plan was to call him back up to the main roster shortly after, this unfortunately never occurred and Cade was released for the second time in April 2010. Afterwards, he returned to Japan to work for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
On 13 August 2010, Lance Cade died of what’s being reported as apparent heart failure. He was rushed into hospital on 10 August, but discharged himself just one day later. Cade went to his father’s workplace on 12 August, where he looked extremely unwell; his father insisted that he stay at his parents’ home, which is where he passed away during the night. Lance is survived by his wife Tanya Gonzalez and two children, Natallye and Brian Curry II.
Lance Cade was a phenomenal worker who was underutilised by WWE. Given the right circumstances, who knows what this talented young worker could have achieved in his career? Being known as a tag team specialist may have hurt him in WWE (as there are no decent tag teams any more) but if a move to TNA had occurred and with the right tag team partner, there’s no doubting he could have stellar matches and feuds with the likes of the Motor City Machine Guns, Beer Money and Ink Inc amongst others. Once again, a worker has been taken before his time, thanks to the rigours of the pro wrestling industry. It’s true that every athlete has a choice whether or not they take steroids or prescription medication, but who knows what these talented athletes feel when the cameras are off and the crowds have dispersed…
Lance Cade may not have reached the level as Eddie Guerrero, but his memory and contributions to the industry will continue to live on for many years thanks to DVDs, television repeats and, of course, memories of the millions of fans who saw him perform at live events worldwide.
Lance was laid to rest in San Antonio on August 18 2010, where his wife, family and trainer the legendary Shawn Michaels were all in attendance.
Rest in Peace
Lance Kurtis McNaught (Lance Cade)
March 2 1981 – August 13 2010
What we don’t see though is the suffering, pain and anguish that these performers go through in the backstage area. The injuries, the continued travel schedule, the high levels of potential depression due to being away from their families, children and loved ones… all of this mounts up and our heroes revert to the only thing that they know in order to get through: that being prescription medication, alcohol and steroids.
But if that’s the case, you may be asking why they continue to be involved in this industry. Is it because of the pay cheque? Is it a god syndrome? Well, the answer is no to both. They do this job for each and every one of us, whether we’re a member of the WWE Universe, the TNA Nation or even the MOS Republic. These men and women come out to entertain and, as mentioned previously, to hear the roar of our opinion.
One thing that’s becoming increasingly obvious is that the younger generation of wrestling superstars aren’t being trained well enough in the psychology of the business to handle the stress, pressure and emotional intensity that comes with being a wrestling superstar. This is something that needs to be addressed by all major wrestling promotions before we lose any more up-and-coming superstars.
Sadly, for one former superstar, any change will come to late. Just two weeks ago, the wrestling world lost one of its most promising future performers in Lance McNaught (Lance Cade). Cade, who was a graduate of the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, had an up and down career with WWE. He gained success in tag team action after becoming a multiple WWE Tag Team Champion with Trevor Murdoch, but for some reason could never gain success in the singles ranks.
Cade made his pro debut in 1999, spending time in Japan where he honed his craft before being signed to a WWE developmental contract. Upon his signing with WWE, he was sent to two of the regional developmental companies - those being Memphis Championship Wrestling and Heartland Wrestling Association.
It was in the HWA where Cade really began to shine and make a solid name for himself in the business. He teamed up with Mike Sanders to capture the HWA Tag Team Championships by defeating former WWE Superstar Val Venis (Sean Morley) and Steven Bradley in February 2002. It was an interesting pairing, as Sanders – who was a former WCW Superstar – and Cade broke up on the same day as their tag title win. The following week on HWA Television, Cade went over Sanders in a one-on-one contest and was given possession of the tag team titles, which had been vacated just one week prior following the teams’ split. He chose Steven Bradley as his new tag team partner and together they defended the titles against all challengers. Things weren’t rosy for the new tag team, as they had trouble in defeating the challenge of former WWE Superstars Hugh Morrus (also an HWA trainer) and Raven. In March 2002, the team were defeated by the WWE pairing for the tag titles, although they regained them just one week later. In April 2002, Cades first (and former) tag team partner Cody Hawk returned to the company and teamed up with the Ice Cream Man to face off for the Tag Team Titles, which they successfully won. Cade and Bradley continued for over a month to try and regain those titles, but to no avail.
In May 2002, Cade moved into the singles division of HWA and faced off against Johnny ‘The Bull’ Stamboli and became the new HWA Heavyweight Champion. He held the title for two months before losing it to Stamboli on 20 July – however, Cade would regain the title on the same night and hold it for two days before losing to Cody Hawk.
Cade then moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling, after HWA was dropped as a developmental territory by WWE. Cade, who still looking to forge a career in the tag team ranks, aligned with Rene Dupree and manager Kenny Bolin and together, the three remained as a unit for most of their runs with OVW. During this time, they were a part of the OVW Tag Team Title tournament, successfully beating Matt Morgan and BJ Payne, but losing out to the Disciples of Sin in the tournament finals. Cade and Dupree did have another shot at the titles at OVW Spring Break-Out in 2003, facing off against champions the APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw) but, not surprisingly, they came out the losing end.
For the next five years, Cade worked on the main WWE roster facing off against some of the company’s biggest tag team competitors including La Resistance (Sylvan Grenier and Rene Dupree), The Dudley Boys, Evolution and Booker T & Goldust. It was during the latter part of his WWE run that he found most success when he teamed up with Trevor Murdoch, as he became a multi time WWE Tag Team champion, gaining success on both the Raw and Smackdown brands.
The team’s formation officially happened in September 2005 when they faced off against former Tag Champions The Hurricane and Rosey. By securing a win here, they were officially on their way and at WWE’s Unforgiven pay-per-view, they won their first WWE Tag Team Championships. They became fighting champions, defending the titles against all comers for over a month, until they faced the combination of the Big Show and Kane who promptly beat them for the titles at WWE Taboo Tuesday. Following the loss, they began to be squashed by other teams on the roster until eventually splitting in November of that year.
During the remainder of Cade’s WWE run, he was left in the midcard mix, unable to make a definite name for himself. His WWE release came in October 2008 following an incident that occurred on an international fight as the WWE Raw roster were returning from a live tour event here in the United Kingdom. Former VP of Talent relations and the voice of Raw, Jim Ross, stated that Cade “made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment" and that it was this mistake that was instrumental in his release. Ross referenced that Cade had suffered a seizure on the flight and needing emergency medical care as a result.
Just one week following his release, he began to accept independent bookings and reunited with his former tag team partner Trevor Murdoch. Cade performed in such promotions as IWA Mid South and NWA Showcase, as well as returning to Japan in December 2008 to team with René Duprée for the Hustle promotion. They appeared as masked wrestlers, Dyna and Might Sharpe, which was designed to be a parody of the Sharpe Brothers. The team defeated Tenyru and Koshinaka both nights. Five nights later, they had their third and final match with Tenyru and Koshinaka in a losing effort. Following this tour Cade later returned as "Cowboy" Cade, his former WWE character, on February 19 at Korukuen Hall to defeat the tag team of Tajiri and Akebono when Cade pinned Tajiri. On February 22, Cade defeated Akebono in a singles match in the main event of Hustle's debut show in Chiba, Japan.
In September 2009, Cade was re-signed by WWE and sent down to Florida Championship Wrestling. Although the plan was to call him back up to the main roster shortly after, this unfortunately never occurred and Cade was released for the second time in April 2010. Afterwards, he returned to Japan to work for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
On 13 August 2010, Lance Cade died of what’s being reported as apparent heart failure. He was rushed into hospital on 10 August, but discharged himself just one day later. Cade went to his father’s workplace on 12 August, where he looked extremely unwell; his father insisted that he stay at his parents’ home, which is where he passed away during the night. Lance is survived by his wife Tanya Gonzalez and two children, Natallye and Brian Curry II.
Lance Cade was a phenomenal worker who was underutilised by WWE. Given the right circumstances, who knows what this talented young worker could have achieved in his career? Being known as a tag team specialist may have hurt him in WWE (as there are no decent tag teams any more) but if a move to TNA had occurred and with the right tag team partner, there’s no doubting he could have stellar matches and feuds with the likes of the Motor City Machine Guns, Beer Money and Ink Inc amongst others. Once again, a worker has been taken before his time, thanks to the rigours of the pro wrestling industry. It’s true that every athlete has a choice whether or not they take steroids or prescription medication, but who knows what these talented athletes feel when the cameras are off and the crowds have dispersed…
Lance Cade may not have reached the level as Eddie Guerrero, but his memory and contributions to the industry will continue to live on for many years thanks to DVDs, television repeats and, of course, memories of the millions of fans who saw him perform at live events worldwide.
Lance was laid to rest in San Antonio on August 18 2010, where his wife, family and trainer the legendary Shawn Michaels were all in attendance.
Rest in Peace
Lance Kurtis McNaught (Lance Cade)
March 2 1981 – August 13 2010
The New MoS
I've had a lot of emails, Facebook messages, Tweets and the like asking about the 'new' MoS and what changes we're making to the show. So I thought i'd make my first blog here on Ministry Confessions about some of the decisions we've made 'backstage' on the show.
As we mentioned a few weeks ago on the show we decided to all get our heads together and have a creative meeting about the future of the show. As individuals we all felt there were things that needed to change to make Ministry Of Slam everything it could be and we all needed a podium to make these points known. From the beginning of 2010 and the addition of Martin, Simon and Lawrence to the team, we decided to make the show very 'no holds barred' with no topic off limits and the perfect antidote to WWE's sterile family-friendly product. Being a big Howard Stern fan myself I had many ideas of things we could incorporate into the show to make it as edgy as it could be. To an extent it worked, and we had a lot of fun with it. We made the move over to No Rules Radio who would prove to be the perfect partner for us and the new format. However during the course of time we felt that we were focusing too much on trying to be 'extreme' and not spending enough time focusing on what the show should have been all about in the first place: wrestling.
During the creative meeting we came up with several ideas, not all of which i'll reveal here, but all of them would make MoS the show it needed to be. The main crux of opinion coming from everyone in the meeting was how we needed to make the show more fan-friendly. Lawrence (i'll give him the credit he deserves!) came up with the idea of making use of our voicemail facility and allowing listeners to call in at any point during the week and to have thier thoughts played out on the show. We're using Facebook, Twitter, and this blog for starters to expand our social network and really want you guys to be a much bigger part of the show.
Also we felt it was time to say goodbye to No Rules Radio. We have a few partnerships and associations we're working on as we move forward and the format of No Rules Radio is a little extreme to pitch to some of these new partners. Don't get me wrong. No Rules Radio is a great, great station and i'll certainly continue to listen to it moving forward, but as we're moving into more of a sports-radio style show we just didn't fit anymore. Many thanks to Allan Lake and the whole team over at NRR. They were nothing short of professional, supportive and super-helpful to us during our run there.
There's more. Some things you might have already learned by the time you read this, some things you might not even realise are happening but just whirr away behind the scenes. The main point is - Ministry Of Slam is YOUR show, and we want it to grow to be a hub for all UK fans to discuss and debate pro-wrestling.
We hope you enjoy it.
As we mentioned a few weeks ago on the show we decided to all get our heads together and have a creative meeting about the future of the show. As individuals we all felt there were things that needed to change to make Ministry Of Slam everything it could be and we all needed a podium to make these points known. From the beginning of 2010 and the addition of Martin, Simon and Lawrence to the team, we decided to make the show very 'no holds barred' with no topic off limits and the perfect antidote to WWE's sterile family-friendly product. Being a big Howard Stern fan myself I had many ideas of things we could incorporate into the show to make it as edgy as it could be. To an extent it worked, and we had a lot of fun with it. We made the move over to No Rules Radio who would prove to be the perfect partner for us and the new format. However during the course of time we felt that we were focusing too much on trying to be 'extreme' and not spending enough time focusing on what the show should have been all about in the first place: wrestling.
During the creative meeting we came up with several ideas, not all of which i'll reveal here, but all of them would make MoS the show it needed to be. The main crux of opinion coming from everyone in the meeting was how we needed to make the show more fan-friendly. Lawrence (i'll give him the credit he deserves!) came up with the idea of making use of our voicemail facility and allowing listeners to call in at any point during the week and to have thier thoughts played out on the show. We're using Facebook, Twitter, and this blog for starters to expand our social network and really want you guys to be a much bigger part of the show.
Also we felt it was time to say goodbye to No Rules Radio. We have a few partnerships and associations we're working on as we move forward and the format of No Rules Radio is a little extreme to pitch to some of these new partners. Don't get me wrong. No Rules Radio is a great, great station and i'll certainly continue to listen to it moving forward, but as we're moving into more of a sports-radio style show we just didn't fit anymore. Many thanks to Allan Lake and the whole team over at NRR. They were nothing short of professional, supportive and super-helpful to us during our run there.
There's more. Some things you might have already learned by the time you read this, some things you might not even realise are happening but just whirr away behind the scenes. The main point is - Ministry Of Slam is YOUR show, and we want it to grow to be a hub for all UK fans to discuss and debate pro-wrestling.
We hope you enjoy it.