In fact it must have been over 30 years since I screamed in Kendo Nagasakis' face following some dastardly salt throwing at the Hexagon in Reading. I finally got to meet and chat to him curtesy of an All Star meet and greet. I was impressed at how warm he was toward the fans, giving each one plenty of time for pictures and chatting about battles with Andre the Giant. He clearly still cares a lot about the business.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed the increase in local wrestling shows on offer? I have been to 3 shows from 3 different companies no more than 15 miles from home in the last month. What has been good to see is an emphasis in building on previous shows giving matches some meaning. I wonder if promoter cooperation may be next as the likes of Joel Redmam are already working across promotions.

I am interested in how managers worked pay wise in wrestling. From Kendo's autobiography we learned that he has to share his pay with George Gillette. I am assuming that many managers were just happy to be in the limelight or accompanying a family member or partner. But Charlie McGee doesnt seem to fit those categories. Any have any idea what his relationship with joint was? Did he draw a salaray or was he just a superfan. I know WAW based in Norwich like to use fans in creative ways.

While looking through YouTube, I watched a match between Marty Jones and Jean Pierre Avert (excuse the spelling), Jones's opponent wasn't known to many over here and the contest was billed as a title eliminater for the Mid-heavyweight title. So it seems that at some point a lot of effort was made to give titles a similar sporting status as in boxing, with rankings and eliminators and some sort of meritocracy. This was a departure from our American Cousins who seemed to give a title to the current flavour of the month. There were other touches like natonal anthems being played and flowers presented to the winner. Titles in Britain no longer seem to have this status, the why is happen is probably more obvious than the when. Do people have memories of the late 80's and early 90's where Title matches still had a level of prestige? Do we think a credible set of titles and a ranking system to earn a title shot would benefit wrestling again?

I was reading the results of a 1969 Royal Albert Hall show and Mike Marino was a subsitute for a wrestler who couldn't appear. It was commented how old he looked. I know many stars, Pallo, McManus, Logan wrestled very late into their lives quite willingly. But I wonder about Marino and Ken Joyce, who had other roles with promoters. Did they willingly step into the breach when their bodies were possibly past it? Was is out of loyalty for their employers and the fans? Was pressure applied to them by promoters?

What were people's thoughts on them? I found them quite disrespectful to the pairs. I know Giant Haystacks did a lot of these matches and perhaps they had some validity. I saw a poster the other day for a match on April 27th 1982 for a 2 on one match involving Kwik kik Lee agaisnt Sid Cooper and Fit Finlay. I love Sid Cooper, but did he add anything to this match?

I was watching Colonel Brody against Pat Roach on the youtube, it occured to be that Brody was a powerful and more than capable heavyweight. It also occurs to me that he had more than his fair share of defeats. Like Sid Cooper, he seemed happy just to entertain the crowd and put others over rather than building his own stardom. Who were your unselfish stars who deserved to win more, but chose to put the business and others first?

I remmber hearing on Wrestlecall that The Emperor (Bill Bromley) was running shows in the Aldershot area. After a few shows Russell reported that punters turned up for a show and he was nowhere to be seen. I guess this happened with indie promotions? I wonder did promoters ever run off mid show without paying?

This is a tiny Spoiler to feel free not to read on if you haven't finished the book. Kendo Nagasaki mentioned that he left the business (again) in the 90's because most of the established stars had finished. The only credible oppenent was Gaint Haystack, according to the man himself, and Haystack was seriously lacking motivation and mobility. Do we agree with the sentiment that he was the only credible opponent? John Quinn was certainly around in the early 90's and i believe it could have been a feud to catch the imagination. Have I got my dates wrong or is this just a bad idea? Are there other matches that people feel should have been made?

I know it has been discussed on here before and the late Tony Francis said that Giant Haystacks was a 'good worker.' This implying that he didnt hurt his opponents too much. When i put this to some for ex professionals, it lead to a heated response. While Stax was a considerate worker. I have said elsewhere that he drop to his knees rather than landing the full splash on lighter oppenents. But this must still have been a devastating move, capable of injuring an opponent. I can recall both Marty Jones and Skull Murphy losing to Haystacks in other, slightly unusual ways. I wonder if the was a ploy to avoid the big splash and if other stars were not prepared to have the big man land on them.

For those who knew Allstar and WCW undercard wrestler Doc Dea. He sadly passed away today at the age of 48. I know him best for his tag work with Robbie Brookside and from Robbies Video Diaries. He has lived in the States since 1998 but managed one appearance on the old WOS televised shows. RIP Ian Doc Dean.