Wrestling fans: If you want change, make it happen on your own dime, not someone else's

Have you ever told someone that you did something, and they reply that you should have done it differently.

Maybe it was as simple as telling your parents you bought a 38-inch flat screen television at Target, and they tell you that you should have bought it a 40-inch much cheaper at Walmart instead. Or maybe the first car you purchased was a Mustang, and when you told family/friends you bought it, they tell you that it maybe would have been more economical to buy a Focus.

Somebody is always giving you advice on how to spend your hard earned money.

In wrestling fans cases, they tell wrestling promoters on a daily basis how to MAKE money.

Fans like to play arm chair quarterbacks and advise Vince McMahon (owner of WWE), Dixie Carter (President of TNA), and Sinclair Broadcasting Group (owners or ROH) on how they believe wrestling should be presented on television. They believe that their philosophy on pro wrestling is what will improve a company's profit line.

Wrestling fanatics like to get on their precious keyboards at home and tell each other that 'CM Punk is truly the best in the world. He should be the No. 1 guy in the company over John Cena' or 'Dolph Ziggler works his ass off; Vince McMahon should give him a lengthy world title run.'

Fans are playing with Monopoly money telling promoters that their favorite wrestler is going to "put an ass every 18 inches" and draw money for the company. Why should McMahon listen to fans who say Cena is too stale and needs to "turn heel" when he is the company's best merchandise seller.

Why should Mr. McMahon pay any mind to fans who didn't exude excitement over Rock vs. Cena II at Wrestlemania 29? After all, their first encounter the previous year led to Wrestlemania 28 being the most purchased 'Mania in history with 1.2 million buys.

Rock vs. Cena II wasn't as successful as their first meeting, falling short of expectations with 1,048,000 buys, but it still proved to be a financial success for WWE.

Die hards would have gotten "a chub" if Punk vs Daniel Bryan headlined Wrestlemania 29, but would it have translated with an orgasmic response from casual fans, leading to over a million buys for the biggest pay-per-view of the year? Debatable but unlikely.

For a promoter who is described as out of touch with his fans, McMahon seems to make a lot of money off of his vision of what a pro wrestling, or excuse me, sports entertainment company, should be.

TNA haters have been clamoring for the company to get rid of Hulk Hogan and other past established stars, feeling they take the shine away from their homegrown talents. When people drive down the highway and see a billboard advertisement with Hogan, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy and Sting on it, it grabs their attention because they are well-known to older fans who grew up watching those guys. It makes them want to check out this new product that they haven't heard of.

When fans see an Austin Aries, AJ Styles, James Storm, Bobby Roode, etc on a billboard, people may not be a little curious but not too interested in checking out what TNA is.

When TNA let go of several talents weeks ago, including Jesse Sorenson who broke his neck on a pay-per-view in 2012 and hadn't wrestled since, the fan outcry was unbelievable. Fans went bonanza over some of the people released. Just like any other job, firings are part of everyday life. TNA, and WWE, are no different than McDonald's, Burger King, Ford, Toyota, Chase Bank and any other company that lets go of people on a daily basis. That is life and people move on from it.

Guys like Sorenson, DOC, Tara, Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan weren't moving the needle for TNA anyway.

Who are fans to tell wrestling companies how to spend and budget their dollars? If these fans were put in charge and kept every Tom, Dick, and Jane that they liked in the company, their expenses would outweigh their profit guaranteed.

Fans ideas may look and sound popular, but unless they are making strides to be on a national promotion's creative team or even starting their own company, their ideas on how wrestling is presented and which wrestlers should be featured is moot.

If promoters are making profit by sticking to what works for them and incorporating their ideas into their company, they have no reason to listen to fans and their ideas on how pro wrestling should be.

If fans want to enact change in wrestling, they need to spend their own money to make it happen instead of telling others how to spend and budget theirs. If they don't want to make those changes, they can continue buying tickets and be on the outside looking in and enjoy what they pay for.

TNA star looks to bring Jersey flavor to San Antonio

TNA Star Robbie E

Total Nonstop Action wrestling star Robbie E has no qualms talking about himself. The
Robbie E you see on Spike TV every Thursday hamming out vocabulary such as "bro"
and "hamster" is who he really is in real life. Affliction style T-shirts and a Pauly D-like
hairstyle are what you see if you run into him on the streets.

"I'm from Jersey. I go to the beach, club, and tan. The gym is my life. The clothes you
see me wear are the clothes you will see me wear when I go out to dinner and when go to
the airport."

E's brazen ego allows him to claim he is the "greatest wrestler there is" when the
promotion casts luminary superstars such as, TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff
Hardy, "The Icon" Sting, Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan. Having won the TNA X-Division and Television Championships in his 2 1-2 year stint in
the company, the arrogant wrestler from Seaside Heights, N.J. is not finished trying to
back up his ego.

He wants to be TNA's third Grand Slam champion, joining AJ Styles
and Samoa Joe on that exclusive list.

"I'm only 29 years old so the sky is the limit. The TNA World Heavyweight
Championship and Tag Team titles are in my future. I have only just begun."

Winning the Grand Slam would further elevate the company in his own eyes.

"I mean look at me. Who wouldn't want me as the face of their company?" E said.

E has the opportunity to continue cementing his name when he and the TNA stars invade
San Antonio March 10 for the TNA Lockdown pay-per-view at the Alamodome.

The annual event will host three steel cage matches main evented by TNA World Champion
Hardy defending his title against Bully Ray. The other steel cage matches include Team
TNA, captained by Sting, versus Team Aces & Eights, led by TNA Television Champion
Devon and Kurt Angle versus Wes Brisco of A & E.

"There's going to be crazy hardcore stuff going on this year. Who knows what Kurt
Angle is going to do this year? Impact Wrestling is an experience like no other. Every
match will be action packed and you get to see the hot Knockouts, and most importantly,
you get to see Robbie E," he said.

E looks forward to the Hardy-Ray matchup the most. Hardy and Ray are no strangers to
each other, having competed in classic tag team matches as part of the Hardy Boyz versus
Dudley Boyz rivalry in World Wrestling Entertainment.

"I feel Bully Ray has something up his sleeve. They have history unlike no other so to see
them lock horns inside a steel cage is huge," E said.

Fans also have the opportunity to meet the stars at its TNA Fan Interaction event at the
Crown Plaza Hotel Downtown March 9.

Before E was wrestling in front of thousands of fans for TNA, he was plying his trade in
independent promotions around the Northeast after being trained by Extreme
Championship Wrestling star and current TNA agent Simon Diamond.  The independents
are shows where wrestlers prepare for the national spotlight by peforming in front of
small crowds in small arenas.

He received a tryout match with TNA Wrestling in July 2010 after wrestling for 10 years.
The company offered him a deal shortly after the tryout.

"(Being in a national promotion) is what every wrestler wants. The travel, having
wrestling be your only job, and getting fame when you are on television and getting
recognized when you are out in public was awesome the first day it happened and it is
just as awesome now," E said.

The brash wrestler was always confident he would earn a spot in a national promotion.

"I was never going to stop trying (to make it to a higher level). Some wrestlers give up
after a few years, but I said I would keep going until something happens," E said.

His hard work was not only rewarded with a TNA contract and titles but also the
opportunity to work with reality television stars. E has faced off with Jersey Shore's Angelina and JWoww on the TNA Impact Wrestling show. He even stepped into the ring against Ronnie from the hit MTV show.

"He was a hampster bro. He was half my size. He was a midget," E claimed.

E might have to put another "hampster" in his place at Lockdown.

He and his bouncer Big Robbie T aka Rob Terry have had miscommunication issues
stemming from Terry attempting to outshine him in a recent dance competition called
The Bro Off.

Their issues could culminate in a match March 10 at the Alamodome.

"He has been trying to out bro me and he don't know me because I am the No. 1 bro. He
has to realize that. I have had to put him in his place by smacking him around a little bit.
He knows the deal. I pay him to be my bouncer. The spotlight is on Robbie E not Robbie
T," E said.

You can purchase tickets for TNA Lockdown through http://www.ticketmaster.com or at
the Alamodome box office. You can catch Impact Wrestling on Spike TV every
Thursday at 8 ET/7 CT.

Follow me @WholeFnSchmo

Interview with Chavo Guerrero Sr.

Here is my first video interview in the Attitude Adjustment era.

I interviewed wrestling legend Chavo Guerrero Sr. aka Chavo Classic, father of Chavo Guerrero and brother of World Wrestling Entertainment hall of famer Eddie Guerrero.

Classic accompanied his son Chavo to the ring during River City Wrestling's "Texas Explosion VII" event at the Good Shepherd Activity Center Dec. 8. His son Chavo teamed with his Total Nonstop Action Tag Team Champion partner "Super-Mex" Hernandez and Homicide to take on the RCW Heavyweight Champion Michael Faith, Joey Spector, and Coach Michael Patrick.

Chavo talks about the historic Guerrero legacy in Texas, his wrestling career, and I think he mentions he has a book coming out.

Respect for the fans

There are two types of fans: the casual fans who love WWE or TNA and your "smart marks"-fans who love all types of wrestling, ranging from independents here in the United States to international companies. The common denominator they share is their love for the products they watch put money in the pockets of the wrestling companies, and in turn, the wrestlers who work for those companies. I get a little irked when wrestlers blantantly disrespect fans, telling them they are better and smarter than the fans by calling them "smarks", which means smart marks or smart wrestling fans. Case in point, Kevin Nash said on Twitter Tuesday after teasing he would be on WWE Raw the night before that social media "is his PS3. Thanks for playing along tonight. I'll always be relevant due to my IQ." The tweet was in response to many fans who believe Kevin Nash doesn't have a place in the national wrestling spotlight anymore. Bottom line is, no matter who you are in the wrestling business, bottom of the card to main event, the wrestling fans should never be disrespected by the people that they spend their time supporting every week through television viewership and merchandise, pay-per-view, and ticket purchases. The fans are the reason wrestlers like John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and the very "inquisitive" Kevin Nash have the luxuries they do. It's because of "us," the paying wrestling customer. So next time Nash, or even, Eric Bischoff, TNA executive, who has been notorious for utlizing the internet to bash wrestling fans, or again, "internet marks" for being in the low percentile of wrestling fans who comprise its makeup, they should think that it's those "10 percent" smart fans who are responsible for them earning a living in a business where very few aspiring athletes can make it. Wrestling fans should never, ever, be disrespected by their heroes. And those heroes should remember that there are fans out there who hail them as such on a daily basis.

ECW: Let it go and let it die

Paul Heyman, former ECW owner, may not be dead yet, but after the trainwreck Extreme Reunion show Saturday, a roll over may due upon eventual burial. Last Saturday's show was another attempt to rekindle the spirit of ECW by bringing back the stars of yesteryear; it was also a show designed to start a new promotion that would be a spinoff of the Philadelphia-based promotion. Instead of ushering a new era, it became a wake for a promotion that died 11 years ago. Advertised talents didn't make the show, those that did show didn't perform, and the booking of the show was horrendous. Sabu, one of ECW's biggest stars, was found unresponsive in his hotel room the day before the show and was in the hospital for evaluation. Justin Credible, former ECW champion, was found slumped over and asleep. Those who found him believed he was in bad shape and asked him to leave the building. An advertised match between Raven and Pitbull Gary Wolfe didn't exactly take place, as a new group of Raven's minions attacked Wolfe and Raven did absolutely nothing. Not even Sandman's entrance with the famed "Enter Sandman" theme could save the treck of a show. Fans were chanting "refund" and "please save this show" during the Jerry Lynn vs Devon Storm match, which was orginally advertised as Lynn vs Credible. That match saved what was little of the show before then. What was orginally advertised as Sabu vs Shane Douglas turned into 2 Cold Scorpio vs Douglas. Fans who paid to see Sabu were not pleased that they didn't get what they paid for walked out during the match. Before the match, when fans were chanting "f**k you Shane" during his promo, Douglas told the fans "You don't work me, I work you." Meaning I don't give a damn what you want because I have your money already. That was a slap to the face of every ECW fan that supported the promotion through its seven-year existence from 1994-2001. Last Saturday's train wreck was proof that the ECW legacy needs to be buried. No more reunion shows, tribute shows, what have you because the promotion is dead and gone. It's not 1995 anymore, and the wrestling business, whether good or bad since, has moved on. The wrestlers that made ECW what it was have either have gone on to WWE or TNA, have retired or sadly have passed. While ECW revolutionized wrestling with its hardcore, grit style of wrestling and its introduction of talent that went on to fame elsewhere, its legacy just needs to let be. As much as WWE, and recently TNA have been criticized for bastardizing the name of ECW, this past Saturday's show went to the 'Extreme', pun intended, of further destroying it. For the sake of the future of the wrestling business, please I ask anybody who's thinkin of the next ECW reunion show to move on, let it go, and find the next promotion that could revolutionize the business. If there's one out there.