DAY 2: Beyond Weekend – Taping at New England Pro Wrestling Academy
THE WAKE-UP
Getting up early on a Saturday morning is never easy. But having to get up after an intense travel day, a long but conflicting Swamp Sessions show, and after only 2 ½ hours of sleep is a tough task for any man.
With Day 1 of the unprofessional studio tapings that Beyond likes to run in the New England Pro Wrestling Academy being run EXTREMELY early at 9 am to help cater to the guys wrestling for CHIKARA Pro later on in the evening, we had to get up and get moving.
Tim Hughes, who was annoyed at me from the night before for SUPPOSEDLY thinking that I cost him a victory in the Tag Team Gauntlet, was a total bear to get up. It took about 25 minutes to get already grumpy “Mr. Good News” onto his feet. Meanwhile, Jaka, the now-silent Samoan, quickly hopped up to his feet and was roaring to go do his thing.
THE WAKE-UP
Getting up early on a Saturday morning is never easy. But having to get up after an intense travel day, a long but conflicting Swamp Sessions show, and after only 2 ½ hours of sleep is a tough task for any man.
With Day 1 of the unprofessional studio tapings that Beyond likes to run in the New England Pro Wrestling Academy being run EXTREMELY early at 9 am to help cater to the guys wrestling for CHIKARA Pro later on in the evening, we had to get up and get moving.
Tim Hughes, who was annoyed at me from the night before for SUPPOSEDLY thinking that I cost him a victory in the Tag Team Gauntlet, was a total bear to get up. It took about 25 minutes to get already grumpy “Mr. Good News” onto his feet. Meanwhile, Jaka, the now-silent Samoan, quickly hopped up to his feet and was roaring to go do his thing.
When you have a little bit of time on your hands, especially on a drive, you tend to drift off and think. One of those things you tend to think about it is friendship and ideas. The Professional Revolution was a bonded formed by similar visions and ideologies revolving what Beyond should be. The wrestling is PHENOMEONAL, but the business pattern is all wrong. We just wanted to change it. Sadly, once Somoza and golden opportunities came along, things started to change. It became an individual effort, not the team effort I originally wanted to put forward. Today, I would have to change it back to the TEAM first. And I do realize that there is no I in team, but there is a ME, and I had to swallow my pride.
THE TAPING
When you arrive at the NEPWA, you never really expect a wrestling school to be there, however, once you step inside, it truly is a wrestling haven. Run by Brian Fury, it is a great wrestling establishment and in my own personal view, probably the only place you can run studio tapings for Beyond. Mark Shurman repeatedly rants about how great the school is to learn the business, and if “Plan B” really likes something, you can guarantee it’s a fantastic place to perfect your craft.
Once Jaka, Hughes, and I entered the venue, I immediately went looking for my guys. Surprisingly, JT and Shurman were very cordial with me. All I wanted to do was to get everything back on track. We saw the match on the format sheet, and knew that it could be the ULTIMATE statement.
THE TAPING
When you arrive at the NEPWA, you never really expect a wrestling school to be there, however, once you step inside, it truly is a wrestling haven. Run by Brian Fury, it is a great wrestling establishment and in my own personal view, probably the only place you can run studio tapings for Beyond. Mark Shurman repeatedly rants about how great the school is to learn the business, and if “Plan B” really likes something, you can guarantee it’s a fantastic place to perfect your craft.
Once Jaka, Hughes, and I entered the venue, I immediately went looking for my guys. Surprisingly, JT and Shurman were very cordial with me. All I wanted to do was to get everything back on track. We saw the match on the format sheet, and knew that it could be the ULTIMATE statement.
With a victory over Sugar Dunkerton and Aaron Epic, PROFESSIONALISM would truly open everyone’s eyes. I knew I had infuriated Sugar on commentary a bit the night before, and Aaron and JT had some true hatred on one another after that AIW match where the Juice legit knocked Epic Fail off his rocker a tad. We had the most realistic shot out of anyone to get the big victory needed to elevate ourselves to the top tier of Beyond.
For a few moments, we were jiving and rhyming. The Revolution was working together as one. We had the game plan formulating. I was ready for the biggest managerial spot of my career. And then…the call heard ‘round my stratosphere.
I was wondering when the “mooch” off JT’s career, Vernon Somoza, was all day. I hadn’t seen a glimpse of him; however, when the Juice’s cell phone buzzed, I knew automatically who it was. I waited for a good 15 minutes for JT to return, and when he did, his demeanor DRASTICALLY changed. No longer was it the team effort we were planning, it was the JT Dunn show. JT wanted to do things HIS way, and it was all because of Somoza’s verbal diarrhea into the ear cavity of the Juice.
Right as the tapings were going to begin, I tried calling a group huddle to fix things up in the PROFESSIONAL sitting section of the NEPWA, but JT decided to ignore me and sit in the midst of the other unprofessional wrestlers within camera view. That hurt my feelings more than you can imagine.
Throughout the entire first half of the taping, I sat ALONE in the Professional section, not on camera, while JT and Shurman sat with the clueless schmucks that were cheering for each and every match. I wondered what I had done wrong. Finally, I realized that the amount of time I sulked and wasted was reaching pathetic states, as it was match time. Shurman and JT went back to the locker room, as did I, and without saying a word to either of them, we went out to the ring.
For a few moments, we were jiving and rhyming. The Revolution was working together as one. We had the game plan formulating. I was ready for the biggest managerial spot of my career. And then…the call heard ‘round my stratosphere.
I was wondering when the “mooch” off JT’s career, Vernon Somoza, was all day. I hadn’t seen a glimpse of him; however, when the Juice’s cell phone buzzed, I knew automatically who it was. I waited for a good 15 minutes for JT to return, and when he did, his demeanor DRASTICALLY changed. No longer was it the team effort we were planning, it was the JT Dunn show. JT wanted to do things HIS way, and it was all because of Somoza’s verbal diarrhea into the ear cavity of the Juice.
Right as the tapings were going to begin, I tried calling a group huddle to fix things up in the PROFESSIONAL sitting section of the NEPWA, but JT decided to ignore me and sit in the midst of the other unprofessional wrestlers within camera view. That hurt my feelings more than you can imagine.
Throughout the entire first half of the taping, I sat ALONE in the Professional section, not on camera, while JT and Shurman sat with the clueless schmucks that were cheering for each and every match. I wondered what I had done wrong. Finally, I realized that the amount of time I sulked and wasted was reaching pathetic states, as it was match time. Shurman and JT went back to the locker room, as did I, and without saying a word to either of them, we went out to the ring.
THE MATCH
From the second we hit the entrance way, there was immediate miscommunication with the team and myself. As the poor man’s Ben Wallace and Epic Fail stood waiting, every second that I attempted to communicate with my team fell on deaf ears.
Here is the bottom line of what transpired in the match:
- JT nearly paralyzed himself multiple times on Dunkerton and Epic attacks.
- Shurman was mugging hardcore to YouTube instead of staying focused on Epic.
- I got trampled into a wall.
- We lost, all because of miscommunication.
The moral of the story: never lose focus of the goal at hand. Will I say that Somoza triggered an intentional throwing of the match? Does JT truly believe that it IS the JT Dunn show? Is Shurman REALLY that aloof? Whatever the case, as I staggered back to the locker room, my team was nowhere to be found. That is the worst case scenario that I had thought about. I just shook my head and continued onwards, back to the off-camera area where I had placed my things.
As I started to change out of my sweaty suit and into my professional casual attire, Anthony Stone, the man who the Revolution had the number of, came up to me, man-to-man, and took me up on a standing offer for a podcast interview I had offered to any member of the Beyond roster.
Truth-be-told, outside of the NEPWA, Stone and I had a good little conversation for the Hardway. And although it was a tad windy, I felt like Anthony was more of a professional than my own cohorts, especially as of late. In fact, if you want to check out it out, download it for FREE HERE AT THIS LINK: http://thehardway.podomatic.com/enclosure/2012-08-07T22_17_52-07_00.mp3
As for the rest of the Saturday tapings, as I was by myself, I actually took some notes, similar to Day 1 of the Beyond weekend, and utilized them for my opinions of this day as well.
From the second we hit the entrance way, there was immediate miscommunication with the team and myself. As the poor man’s Ben Wallace and Epic Fail stood waiting, every second that I attempted to communicate with my team fell on deaf ears.
Here is the bottom line of what transpired in the match:
- JT nearly paralyzed himself multiple times on Dunkerton and Epic attacks.
- Shurman was mugging hardcore to YouTube instead of staying focused on Epic.
- I got trampled into a wall.
- We lost, all because of miscommunication.
The moral of the story: never lose focus of the goal at hand. Will I say that Somoza triggered an intentional throwing of the match? Does JT truly believe that it IS the JT Dunn show? Is Shurman REALLY that aloof? Whatever the case, as I staggered back to the locker room, my team was nowhere to be found. That is the worst case scenario that I had thought about. I just shook my head and continued onwards, back to the off-camera area where I had placed my things.
As I started to change out of my sweaty suit and into my professional casual attire, Anthony Stone, the man who the Revolution had the number of, came up to me, man-to-man, and took me up on a standing offer for a podcast interview I had offered to any member of the Beyond roster.
Truth-be-told, outside of the NEPWA, Stone and I had a good little conversation for the Hardway. And although it was a tad windy, I felt like Anthony was more of a professional than my own cohorts, especially as of late. In fact, if you want to check out it out, download it for FREE HERE AT THIS LINK: http://thehardway.podomatic.com/enclosure/2012-08-07T22_17_52-07_00.mp3
As for the rest of the Saturday tapings, as I was by myself, I actually took some notes, similar to Day 1 of the Beyond weekend, and utilized them for my opinions of this day as well.
NOTES
- Dan Barry and Shrimp Scampi treated poor Miyagi like a piece of trash. Miyagi should have stiffed the miserable unprofessional bums.
- I do not care what anyone says. Drew Gulak is such a technical wizard inside of the ring.
- Dan Barry piledriving Nick Talent made me sick. Absolutely sick.
- Jaka and Brian Fury had such a little splendid contest. Meat-and-potatoes was the style the contest employed.
- Mr. TOUCHDOWN schooling Tim Hughes made me smile.
- No Turtle means a positive influence.
THE AFTERMATH
After the tapings, which were short but brief, and overwhelmingly exhausting, JT and Shurman were, of course, still nowhere to be found, especially after the loss. Jaka went off on his own to train, especially after the excellent contest with Fury earlier on, to keep up with his conditioning. On a complete side note, Darius Carter, who had an excellent victory on Epic Fail in a singles match, kept the party going. I guess it was good luck to keep that superstition going. And Hughes, who finally gotten over his anger towards me when I muttered that I thought he outshined that “nerd” Touchdown, asked if I wanted to go on an excursion.
It had been a LONG 48 hours, and all Hughes and I wanted to do was rest and eat. Tim actually had a good idea (FOR ONCE) and we decided to drift into Boston to get some food and delicacy.
First things first, U-Burger was one of the tastiest burgers I have ever eaten. It was a small burger spot, not necessarily a chain restaurant per say, and it showed in its uniqueness and burger. TRY IT! Then, after a long walk, we hit up the legendary Mike’s Pastry and had a cannoli. Granted, it wreaked havoc on my feeble attempts at a diet, but with a lot on my mind, personally and professionally, it was a small relief from the pressures of life.
- Dan Barry and Shrimp Scampi treated poor Miyagi like a piece of trash. Miyagi should have stiffed the miserable unprofessional bums.
- I do not care what anyone says. Drew Gulak is such a technical wizard inside of the ring.
- Dan Barry piledriving Nick Talent made me sick. Absolutely sick.
- Jaka and Brian Fury had such a little splendid contest. Meat-and-potatoes was the style the contest employed.
- Mr. TOUCHDOWN schooling Tim Hughes made me smile.
- No Turtle means a positive influence.
THE AFTERMATH
After the tapings, which were short but brief, and overwhelmingly exhausting, JT and Shurman were, of course, still nowhere to be found, especially after the loss. Jaka went off on his own to train, especially after the excellent contest with Fury earlier on, to keep up with his conditioning. On a complete side note, Darius Carter, who had an excellent victory on Epic Fail in a singles match, kept the party going. I guess it was good luck to keep that superstition going. And Hughes, who finally gotten over his anger towards me when I muttered that I thought he outshined that “nerd” Touchdown, asked if I wanted to go on an excursion.
It had been a LONG 48 hours, and all Hughes and I wanted to do was rest and eat. Tim actually had a good idea (FOR ONCE) and we decided to drift into Boston to get some food and delicacy.
First things first, U-Burger was one of the tastiest burgers I have ever eaten. It was a small burger spot, not necessarily a chain restaurant per say, and it showed in its uniqueness and burger. TRY IT! Then, after a long walk, we hit up the legendary Mike’s Pastry and had a cannoli. Granted, it wreaked havoc on my feeble attempts at a diet, but with a lot on my mind, personally and professionally, it was a small relief from the pressures of life.
When you go on the road for a few days, you tend to drift off into space. You miss home, you miss the comfort zone you make for yourself, and most importantly, you miss your family, friends and significant others. I joke about “Barbra Streisand” on my podcast and to others in life, but barely having any time to really talk to her about the weekend, the food, about how the Professional Revolution is going through a rough patch, EVERYTHING; it really messed with me a tad more.
People don’t get what my mind has been going through. With no Leon St. Giovanni or Stan Stylez, Vernon Somoza playing head games with the group I formed, and Professionalism truly going through its biggest rough patch, I went to sleep that night a little early; trying to dream a little easier and attempting to find some semblance of what I needed to do next.
Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
People don’t get what my mind has been going through. With no Leon St. Giovanni or Stan Stylez, Vernon Somoza playing head games with the group I formed, and Professionalism truly going through its biggest rough patch, I went to sleep that night a little early; trying to dream a little easier and attempting to find some semblance of what I needed to do next.
Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
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