Fresh Linen Scent: The Clean Sheet
Volume 1, Issue 2
Welcome to the newest wrestling “newsletter” with no rumors or dirt: only fun, “what-ifs?” and positives...The Clean Sheet! A rotating series of mini-features here will highlight all sorts of things in the world of pro wrestling: people making change in the sport, charity and fund-raising efforts, trail blazers of the present, a bit of fantasy-booking and much more! So breathe deeply, relax and inhale the wonderful scent of fresh linen: this is The Clean Sheet!
Good Hands
In the Good Hands section, we'll highlight charity shows and fund-raising efforts within the world of pro wrestling for great causes everywhere. Here's some of the events going on now or in the near future and how you can help improve our world.
Olde Wrestling's yearly end-of-summer event “Extravaganza” will not be happening this year, but they would still like to reach out to their surrounding community. Every year, “Extravaganza” has raised funds and brought attention to the Norwalk Area United Fund which serves the Ohio communities of Norwalk, Monroeville and Wakeman. Through the end of September, any donation to the Fund will be tripled: Olde Wrestling will match and a 3rd party will also match if you send receipt of your gift to Olde Wrestling!
Contacts: @oldewrestling on Twitter, oldewrestling.com, @UnitedFund on Twitter, norwalkunitedfund.org
Uncanny Attractions stream on IWTV of “Drags and Dropkicks: The Wrestlers Take Manhattan” will benefit NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) & TWOCC (Trans Women of Color Collective). All profits from streaming the show between 9/9 and 9/16,when watched beginning to end, will help these two organizations. It is a fully cinematic show and should be a fascinating, entertaining watch.
Contacts: @uncanny_attract on Twitter, twocc.us, nivassoc.org, independentwrestling.tv (many trial codes available)
Former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal is championing the cause of Cystic Fibrosis, participating in this year's Great Strides virtual event in the Tampa, FL, area. To contribute, check out fightcf.cff.org or follow the link at Jay's Twitter, @TheLethalJay.
"Wildheart" Cole Radrick will be causing vehicular carnage on September 19th at a demolition derby in Spencer, Indiana while also raising funds for his local NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) chapter. NAMI is a grassroots public charity that helps people living with mental illness as well as their family, friends and supporters. Anyone who sponsors the car at a level of $10 or more can have their name/message/business on the sweet station wagon that will be going into battle. Any money won if the wagon places will also go to NAMI! The PayPall for donations is CRWrestles@gmail.com and Cole's Twitter handle is @ColeRadrick. Please refer to his pinned tweet for more information, he's accepting donations thru September 17th.
Forward Five with...DARK Sheik
The Forward Five is a five static question mini-interview asked of those who have been trail blazers, wave makers and agents of change. This first interview is a “comes full-circle” affair because she directly (whether she knew it or not) fueled my pursuit of getting the Clean Sheet started with a simple kind reply on Twitter: “I like your viewpoints. I would subscribe to your newsletter.” Also, while this is the Clean Sheet, no one's answers shall ever be censored in this section. Consider this your content Caution warning. (...CAUTION!)
1. Please sum up your wrestling persona in one sentence.
DARK Sheik: “Illuminating the path less traveled, I'm your friendly neighborHood-slammer and Persian Trans Reefer Ninja, DARK Sheik!”
2. What would you like to immediately change in the world of pro wrestling?
DARK Sheik: “Wrestling is the mirror we hold back up to society. It reflects our brightest but also manifests all of humanity's ugly. Some of us look to the mirror and want to build upon what we see, while others cling to a fading image of what they remember as "the good ol' days". Those who want to live in the past don't have to change: but I would appreciate if they don't try and drag the rest of us back there with them. Conversely, wrestling has become inundated with behind-the-curtain types who never stepped in the ring - who's fandom just begun, itself - and they design themselves to be saviors of a thing they do not understand. What both camps fail to understand is that wrestling will outlive us all. It doesn't need saving, and none of us can ever save it because nothing can kill it. We can only save ourselves by adapting, but eventually we all will be left behind as it evolves into something for a newer generation. As it always has.”
3. What change(s) are you actively pursuing in the world of pro wrestling?
DARK Sheik: “I'm allowed a lot of creative freedom as the mother of Hoodslam - we have 3 official rules, and 2 unofficial - and wrestling directly reached out to me for all of them. They are officially: no homophobia, no racism and no sweeping statements demeaning women. Unofficially, first to never to underestimate the audiences intelligence. Second, fuck the fans. As in "We the artist do what is inside of us". Hopefully, they like it. If not, we hope you can find somewhere else more attuned to your taste, but we won't compromise our joy to sell a ticket. Authenticity is what's on the marquee, not of combat but of purpose.”
4. Who do you think deserves a shout-out or some praise in the world of pro wrestling?
DARK Sheik: “Shout outs deserved to all the Hoodslam roster. All the GLAM roster. The people at Wrestling Pro Wrestling in Burbank. To Mansoor and Shotzi and Jake and everyone else representing the West. To Green Ant and Fire Ant, Suge, Still Life, Effy, Christina Von Eerie. Gangrel. Jesus Rodriguez and Derek Drexl and 4 Minutes of Heat. Shout out to Knokx Pro in SoCal and all the Samoan Dynasty. I could keep going. I've been doing this 20 years, I've met a jillion wrestlers. I could do my own 500 just of people I love.”
5. The dreaded and super annoying question #5: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
DARK Sheik: “In 5 years I'm hopefully continuing to to be blessed enough to provide a platform. I don't know if I'll be in wrestling then. I don't know if I'll be wrestling. I hope if I am alive, I can be helping someone so that later they can help someone. And if I'm dead I'll just Casper this shit and try to help anyway.”
Pure Wrestling Spotlight: The short history and rebirth of the ROH Pure Championship
Always striving to be a more competition than story-driven promotion, especially in its early years, Ring of Honor used the Pure Championship to put a spotlight on that concept. Dormant for almost fifteen years, the ROH Pure title has been worn by some of wrestling’s best: AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan), Jay Lethal, Doug Williams, Nigel McGuinness and John Walters. During its short 2 ½ year lifespan (between 2004-2006), many a mat classic was held under the following rule set:
1. Each competitor starts with three rope breaks to stop submission holds and pinfalls during the match. After a wrestler’s three breaks are used up, submission and pin attempts under the ropes by their opponent are considered legal.
2. There are no punches to the face allowed in the match, only open-handed slaps or chops to the face are allowed. Punches to other body parts (other than low blows) are allowed. The first use of a closed fist gets a warning, second offense causes the wrestler to be penalized a rope break. If they are out of breaks, they are disqualified.
3. A wrestler is subject to a twenty count by the referee if they go to the floor, as is standard in all ROH bouts.
4, The title can change hands via disqualification or count out.
On January 30th of this year, ROH announced they were bringing it back and rolled out plans for a 16-man tournament to start in the spring. As with many springtime and after plans, they were dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. After evaluating and biding their time building a game plan to go back to content creation safely, closed-set tapings were announced for late August. The meat and taters of these tapings was finally the start of the tournament planned so many months ago. The field of 16 contains former Pure champion Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Matt Sydal, David Finlay, Tracy Williams, Josh Woods, Wheeler Yuta, Rocky Romero, PJ Black, Tony Deppen, Kenny King, Dalton Castle, Rust Taylor, Fred Yehi, Delirious, and Silas Young.
Some additions have also been made to that original rule set as well:
1. Every match will begin and finish with the Code of Honor.
2. Outside interference will result in an automatic termination from ROH for the offending party.
3. Judges have been added and will declare a winner after a time-limit draw.
First round matches from the tournament will
start airing the weekend of September 12th on ROH’s weekly
program. It’s a deep and talented field,
so it shall be very interesting to see who ends up as the standard bearer for
the revived division.
If you have events/fundraisers
that you would like to see highlighted in the Good Hands section or are an
athlete who would like to take on the Forward Five, please reach out to us at
either @olskoololfool on Twitter or by e-mail, olskoololfool@gmail.com