More letters to psmag.co.uk

This week's collection of reader e-mails to psmag.co.uk. If you have a burning desire to comment on anything wrestling-related, please write to us at: powerslam@globalnet.co.uk. We would especially like to hear your comments about SummerSlam for an installment of The Mail Extra which will be uploaded around midday on Tuesday, August 19 . . .



How has Brad Maddox survived WWE's budget cuts? I am astounded by this. I mean, what on earth is that man good for?


Alex Clark

Peak District


F.M. writes: Some outwardly useless people in wrestling have friends in high places who ensure their names are excluded from "To Fire" lists. We reckon Brad is one of those people.




Hi,


I'm a reader of Power Slam from Singapore.

I just found out about the closure of your print edition today and I'm really very sad!

By the time Power Slam magazine reaches Singapore, the content is usually outdated, but I still buy it occasionally because I like the insightful interviews. A copy here costs slightly over $10 or about 5 pounds.

I've been reading Power Slam for around seven to eight years and am sad to see it go, especially since this comes so close to WWE Magazine's closure.

As a fellow journalist who has interviewed many WWE superstars, yes, the writing is on the wall for print publications. Online revenue is yet to make up the shortfall.

All the best,

Sharon



So, there's rumours going around that Nikki Bella is going to turn heel. If this is the case, then it's kind of stupid.

Normally, relationships between pro wrestlers are not known or acknowledged on TV. However, the Nikki/John Cena relationship is known to viewers of Total Divas. Therefore, if Nikki turns heel, that means the super-babyface is dating a heel, which means he supports her as his partner, meaning he supports a heel, meaning he's violating his morals, meaning the world is going to end. 


Hmmmm. 


Gary Draper

Swadlincote 




Fin, I was crushed to hear the decision had been taken to fold Power Slam last month. I don’t expect this letter to be published, but I wanted to send you a note to thank you for all you’ve done on the mag over the years.


I used to buy SOW back in the day, and I think it was the first step towards smartening me up. I got the first issue of Power Slam from the newsagents and think I must have bought practically every issue, apart from a period in the mid-to-late 1990s when I was at university and out of touch with the scene.

 

I’ve been a critic of the content and direction of PS at times and I’ve e-mailed you to that effect a few times over the years. I still think you could’ve done with more writers. However, in spite of that criticism, I never stopped buying the mag – in fact, in recent months it’s the only magazine I’ve bought regularly.


I was a subscriber for a couple of years and even had a letter published a few years back, lashing out at Kid Kash for a controversial interview he did with you.

 

Thanks for brightening up so many of my months over the past 15 years, and for sticking by your principles. I know you had plenty of critics but I, for one, am really going to miss PS. I wish you all the best with your e-book project.

 

Nick




It is my opinion that the “authority figure”, whether it be a heel or babyface, is one of the stalest concepts in wrestling (up there with enemies having to team up as tag team partners, and 2 on 1 handicap matches with the heels outnumbering the faces).

 

Look at the relentless succession of these characters we’ve had to endure over the last decade: Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, William Regal, Kurt Angle, Teddy Long, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Dixie Carter, Kurt Angle, Sting, Mick Foley, MVP, etc.

 

The reason I find it stale is because it is so predictable: the heel authority figures will always side with the heels and will usually surround themselves with some sort of heel faction consisting of mediocre wrestlers who would otherwise be doing nothing. On the other hand, the babyface figures will always side with the babyfaces, and usually come across as rather bland and eventually get overthrown by a major match stipulation.

 

We’ve seen it so many times that there is nothing fresh this concept can possibly yield. What makes it worse is the inconsistent level of power the anonymous “Board Of Directors” seems to have: it is based upon whatever suits the story line at the time. It seems these “Boards” can remove Vince McMahon, Triple H or MVP from power if they see fit, yet at other times, sit idly by and allow heel authority figures to run roughshod for months on end without interruption.

 

The only thing is, I cannot think of an alternative. It is such a staple of American wrestling that it seems it would be impossible to have a show without one of these figures barking out the orders. But there must be another way, mustn’t there?

 

Fearghal Traynor




Is anybody else concerned by the single-player campaign in the upcoming WWE 2K15 videogame? The mode will focus on "legendary" feuds such as, erm, Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, and C.M. Punk vs John Cena. Really? Those were the best two feuds they could come up with?


The interminable HHH/'HBK' feud was, barring one cracker of a match at SummerSlam 2002, an absolute dud. Punk/Cena was okay, but hardly in the same class as Austin/McMahon, Hart/Michaels, Hogan/Savage or Flair/Sting -- any of which could have been featured instead.


Richard Marriott




Hi,

 

It was with great shock and sadness that I read the news of PS closing.

 

More than 20 years ago, I picked up a copy of SOW and, from day 1, I was hooked. Your excellent and fascinating insights into the weird and (sometimes) wonderful world of wrestling has been something I have looked forward to every month. You have been with me since I was an early teenager all the way through to my 30s. No matter where or what stage I have been at in life, PS has been a little highlight in my month.

 

So, thank you so much for the memories, the opinions (90% of which I agreed with), the insights, the education into the world outside the WWE and the good times. I so wish it wasn’t this way, but I also wish you all the very best with the ebook and the future.

 

And I hope, like most wrestlers who retire, you reconsider your decision and make a comeback at some stage. I’d still be buying.

 

Thank you,

David


F.M. writes: Issue 237 was the final installment of Power Slam.




Hi Fin,

I spent weeks trying to get a copy of the latest issue of Power Slam and finally managed to get my hands on one . . . only to be left mortified when I checked when the next copy was due to go on sale.

I've never missed a single copy of PS since the first issue went on sale. I along with many others will be lost without it each month.

I'd like to say a massive thank you for the time and effort everybody has put into this amazing publication over the years. Thank you! 

This is truly the end of an era. I look forward to the book in November.

Sincerely,
Gordon Carter



Do my eyes deceive me? We have an actual new Triple Crown champ who is holding the belt for the first time! And he's under the age of 40 too! There may be hope for All Japan under the Jun Akiyama regime!

Joel Penberthy


F.M. writes: Joe Doering captured the Triple Crown from Suwama on July 27 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.



Hi,

I appreciate that you've had a lot of mail about your closure and, although late, I felt I really had to add my thoughts as well to the floods you've received.


The closure of Power Slam came as a real shock. I only found out from the final issue, and wasn't expecting it.


I can't remember which my first issue was, but I've been an avid, constant reader for a long time now, and each new issue has been looked forward to. I really liked the informative editorial style and honest, interesting articles which cut through the bull that wrestling companies generate. 


Thank you for a great magazine, and please, please keep up with the website. You are needed.


I do hope that your seemingly sudden closure isn't due to any health or family problems.


You will be sorely missed. 


Chris Cheffins




Why does Fin believe Roman Reigns will make it as a top guy in WWE? The man is awkward on the mic and pretty poor in the ring. Compare his match with Daniel Bryan earlier this year to, for instance, John Cena's clash with D.B. at SummerSlam last year, and it's night and day.


At least Cena can be carried to a good match. Roman can't. Comparing Reigns to Cena is like comparing Warrior to Hogan.


Dan


F.M. writes: Regarding Roman Reigns. What I've written is that he's the man of the hour in WWE, is making progress and has a bright future in the company, all of which are true, as far as I'm concerned. I could point out here that Reigns' matches with Kane were far superior to Cena's efforts with 'The Demon', but that would be the height of pettiness, wouldn't it?




Dear Fin,


I read Power Slam from around Issue 60. I looked forward to sitting down every month with the latest issue.


I stopped watching WWE in 2006/2007 and have only watched TNA 1 or 2 times a month. I buy the occasional DVD. Still, the quality of the writing in Power Slam made me continue to buy every issue.


Thank you for introducing me to Matthew Randazzo V.


My favourite matches: Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels.


Finally, thanks for the last page I looked at in a Power Slam: a picture of Velvet Sky. Nice one.


Yours,

 

Kenneth 




I thought WWE's decision to book Chris Jericho to beat Bray Wyatt at Battleground was a tremendous disservice to Wyatt.


Jericho is an old hand, verging on has-been, who has only popped in for a brief spell. Wyatt is a potential megastar (by wrestling standards) who was coming off a feud he lost to John Cena.


After losing to Cena, Wyatt needed a solid victory to reheat him, not a loss to an ageing B+ player (to steal The Authority's term). Appeasing Jericho's ego might have been an easy decision, but it was a short-sighted one.

 

Nick Whitehouse



This is a thank you. Thank you for all the issues of Power Slam. I have never e-mailed or written to you before, but felt compelled to do so by the discovery that the last issue had been printed.

I have purchased every issue since number 26 (I am, however, missing one or two). In my younger days, I would often take a trip to town for the sole purpose of purchasing Power Slam from the one shop in Chesterfield which stocked it.


I honestly believe -- although this may sound silly -- that Power Slam greatly aided my education. I hadn't been a big reader before: I wasn't a fan of fiction and had a short attention span. The discovery of your magazine came at just the right time for me. I was around 14 when I first bought it and was immediately hooked. I found it intriguing, but also very intelligently written. I looked forward greatly to each issue.


I also used my vast collection to help write my dissertation -- a sociological analysis of the phenomenon of professional wrestling.


I'm a primary school teacher as an adult and try constantly to engage my young readers in the way I was engaged by your magazine as a boy.


It's a sad day for me. I feel like I've grown up with the magazine, and it's sad to see it finish. 


Good luck with your future endeavours (predictable inside joke!), and I will keep an eye out for your upcoming book.


Yours sincerely,

Ian Holmes.



Hi,

My name is [deleted by psmag.co.uk]. I am enquiring as to whether you have any positions available with your magazine currently. I am looking for work and am extremely passionate about wrestling, so much so that I even attended WrestleMania XXX in New Orleans earlier this year.


I've followed wrestling for as long as I can remember, and would love a job which utilises my passion for it. I also enjoy creative writing and have experience in the media industry.


Please contact me with any details and keep me in mind if you don't currently have any positions available.


Regards,

[name deleted by psmag.co.uk]


p.s. I have attached my CV to this e-mail.


F.M. writes: This e-mail was sent to us on August 12. So far this week, we have received four other applications for positions on a magazine which no longer exists. Something tells me none of these people purchased Issue 237.

Back to News Archive