This time of the year is meant for celebration (and arguing if we should celebrate due to how we treated another race, but that’s for the political writers) but for some it’s a time for reflection.
2018-2019 has been a particularly hard year, in what seems to be a lasting trend. My Father passed away on Christmas Eve of ‘18 after a lengthy battle with testicular cancer. The last time I saw my Dad alive was 366 days ago. I knew it would be - but it didn’t take away the shock of that morning phone call.
The past year has been rough. But in the trying times I could always count on professional wrestling to take my mind off everything for a couple hours at a time - I also realized how great the wrestling twitter community can be at times. I’ve made a lot of friends on twitter - that’s who they are to me, friends. Not followers. The one’s that I’m lucky enough to communicate with are some of the very best human’s on twitter. And I wanted to take the time out now to thank them.
First, Bum Wine Bob, himself. It seems as though we’ve been following each other forever and that’s a really cool thing. When I came to him with the idea of starting a wrestling section to the site he welcomed me with arms wide open.
First, Bum Wine Bob, himself. It seems as though we’ve been following each other forever and that’s a really cool thing. When I came to him with the idea of starting a wrestling section to the site he welcomed me with arms wide open.
Then you have that sexy Krude and his hijinxs. He’s a master at saying what needs to be said, but not shoving it down your throat like most writers will do. He’s always has a unique perspective on things.
And then there is Tiffany Rose. The hardest working wrestling writer on bWb .. i mean, she actually leaves her house to cover shows. And she does it with passion and zest that you don’t find with a lot of wrestling journalists.
I thank the folks who communicate with me and my posts - Rick Del Santo; you’ve been a constant conversation my friend, and I appreciate you. Geno - my movie guy. If you haven’t subbed to his Youtube page for movie reviews, you’re a FOOL!!! The Queen of Beyond or Princess of Beyond .. or the rad blonde haired chick of Beyond Wrestling who suffers through my tweets during shows but is always kind, Rach … you’re great. Andrea Hangst, Rose Harmon, Adam Joad, all great people who i’ve been lucky enough to converse with.
And then there are the promotions. Beyond Wrestling is closest to my heart. There are days I look at bus ticket prices and think about hopping the hell out of this life and begging Drew for a job. I can’t count the amount of laughs, of the HOLY SHITS, that have occurred watching Uncharted Territory - Paul Crockett is one of the very best on the mic when it comes to announcing wrestling, don’t sleep on this guys talent.
GCW is my inner monologue. It’s the palate cleanser of my life. It is the closest you will ever come to seeing spoken word murder poetry.
I thank each and every one of you who come through on my timeline, my dms, who read my columns, who read Tiffany’s columns, who are passionate, good fucking people.
Thank you, a million times over.
- Dennis
What I’m Thankful For
by Tiffany Rose
Happy Thanksgiving! Now that the holiday season is officially upon us you’d think we’d see a little more peace on earth and goodwill towards men, right? Hell no! It’s 2019 and the bitchfest train keeps a-rollin’ 24/7, especially on wrestling social media. Because of this constant din of complaining and verbal attack, we here at Bum Wine think it’s time to reflect on what’s good and show an attitude of gratitude. Personally, I’ve got a few things in the wrestling world I’m thankful for and it’s time I shared them! It’s my hope that imparting these thoughts to others that maybe...just maybe...a few people can agree on something that makes them glad they watch wrestling.
Here’s what I’m most thankful for in wrestling right now:
Beyond Wrestling - I give all the credit to the promotion that reignited that spark for me as a wrestling fan. This awesome journey started for me back in early summer of this year and peaked with Americanrana; once I saw that show right after witnessing the huge first season of Uncharted Territory I knew I’d be a Beyond fan for a very long time.
Wednesday nights - It hasn’t been a whole lot of time since the so-called ‘Wednesday Night War’ started between AEW and NXT, but it seems like it’s been going on for a while now since there’s been so much discussion about both shows days after either of the two have aired. To me that means that it was a natural fit to have wrestling shows go head to head on one night of the week. Wednesday’s a huge deal again, and I’m thankful for that as well as both AEW and NXT.
Streaming networks - IWTV, FITE, Highspots, even WWE Network...where would a wrestling fan be nowadays without streaming networks? And at that, imagine how cool it would have been to have had on-demand access to streaming in 1998 (no VHS tapes needed)? Thank God for them all.
Game Changer Wrestling - This is my new ECW and I love it. Back in the day when I wanted to hide out from the WWF vs. WCW nonsense, I knew I could always count on the ECW tapes to pull me back in as a fan. These days I rely on GCW shows for that reminder of what’s good. Sure, I give the credit to Beyond Wrestling for reintroducing me to my love of wrestling, but Beyond is a platform for rising stars. GCW has that ECW feel of “where the cool kids skip school”. Grateful to still have that feeling. :)
Xtremely Serious Wrestling - GOD BLESS XSW. I’d been looking for the perfect blend of sketch comedy and wrestling for...my whole entire life, basically. This year I found it and by everything that’s good and wonderful (like Johnny f’n Pop) I will watch every single show without fail and attend as many of these fun-as-hell occasions in NYC as I can. That, friends, is how much I love XSW.
Danhausen - How can you not be thankful for Danhausen? He’s one of the best characters on the indie scene today and is also a pretty damn great guy by all accounts. The wrestling world needs more Danhausen in 2020. I’m glad he’s around!
With this list I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving this year and remind you to take some time out to think about what’s good in the world of wrestling...whether you make a list of it or not!