Fresh Linen Scent: The Clean Sheet Volume 1, Issue 9
The 2020 #CleanSheetKudos Edition!
Welcome to the 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!
This issue we’ll present the Inaugural #CleanSheetKudos! There’s no budget for physical awards, so here’s hoping these little shout-outs are enough to put smiles on faces and eyes on some great folks in wrestling. Let’s get to it!
The Crirtic’s Choice Kudo: Jeff Cannonball & Erica Leigh
Erica’s candy reviews and the short soda reviews of Jeff are two of the only real reasons a person needs to use social media. Usually a minute at most, these blasts of joy brighten any day they show up on my timeline. They’ve also scored these two some sweet loot, with Jeff being shown appreciation by Jones Soda Co. and for Erica some Albanese brand yum-yums A tasty kudo for both of these refined critics!
The Eye Opener Kudo: Black Wrestlers Matter, For the Culture, Effy’s Big Gay Brunch, Paris Is Bumping
There were many other events that could be lumped in here, but these were the big four for me. If you watched any of these, there is zero doubt that the under-represented in wrestling not only matter and deserve the spotlight, but are the future. There were MOTY candidates on all of them and the events exposed many to fresh faces that should be household names shortly. If you have not yet watched any of these events, please do and expand your horizons to all the things wrestling can be.
The Adapt, Survive, Thrive Kudo: GCW, ICW NHB & Camp Leapfrog
This is a pretty diverse bunch, but all three of these promotions provided different examples of how to make kickass lemonade out of all of 2020’s lemons. They all ran in very creative locations and booked under utilized talent. GCW did their damnedest to figure out how to run shows safely as possible in a pandemic, ICW brought us the Pit & how to masterfully book on the fly while Camp Leapfrog gave many freshly without a home a place to call home once more. If I had 1% of the innovative spirit of any of the companies, I sure wouldn’t be a desk jockey for a meager living.
The Give Me the Ball Kudo: DARK Sheik & Still Life with Apricots & Pears
It may not get more niche to an outsider’s eyes than two trans people wrestling at an LGBTQ+ based event: Effy’s Big Gay Brunch. This was by no means “niche”. It was two highly-skilled professional wrestlers on the biggest platform either have had in a long time and it was absolutely stunning. The match put on that day was art, a MOTY candidate in my eyes and proof positive that wrestling is for EVERYONE. Effy gave them the ball. They took the ball and scored a walk-off homer, touchdown and slam-dunk, simultaneously.
The Best Friend Kudo: The Internet
Hear me out on this one…can you remember a time where wrestling, wrestlers and promotions have been so easy to find, watch and interact with? Affordable event streaming, YouTube, Twitch, social media…the amount of easy to find content is crazy huge. Talk to your faves on Twitter. Catch free matches on Twitch and YouTube, stream from numerous providers for $10 or less a month. Play Among Us with wrestlers on Twitch or Discord, say hello in their chat on stream. With most folks indoors a ton more these days, the internet is a damn fine friend. Never perfect, but life seems to be a bit better with “them” around.
The Best Kind of Nostalgia Kudo: Pro Wrestling Illustrated
It never left, but I can’t remember the last year I heard so much chatter about PWI. They are trying very hard to matter again and I believe folks are starting to notice. Even with a misstep or twelve, wrestlers speak about their rankings again. MLW and AEW reference their rankings on their respective programs. A yearly tag-team ranking was added and all are included in the 500 now as well, regardless of gender. Think what you want of them, but their drive and willingness to change while being a institution born in a different age earn a kudo from me.
The Keep the Lights On Kudo: Generous Wrestling Fans
Did you feel moved to buy merch, Cameos, DVDs/Blu-Rays or memorabilia from your favorite wrestler/promotion? Did you sponsor a match at a show? Did you retweet about your favorite wrestling things and people? If not, that’s cool…things have sucked for everyone. If you were in a position where you could and did please find a mirror and watch as you give yourself a pat on the back. So many lost bookings, gates, opportunities for everyone in wrestling over this year were hopefully counterbalanced a bit by folks just like you: kudos.
The New Family Kudo: BumWineBob.com
This is the part when I get in my feels and dump TMI…that’s your warning.
I’m so grateful to be here: on this site with these people doing this thing I love. It’s a great team and a great family, which is rad because there’s precious few left of my blood. In a year of limited social interaction and opportunities to meet new peeps, the friendship and support of this team has been huge for my overall mood and mental health. This year I was lucky enough to meet @ThatRoseTattoo IRL and I hope to cross paths with the other folks as time goes on. To Bob, Dennis, Kapn Krude, Eric, Don, Geno, Kay and both Tiffanies…you’re stuck with me. Deal. And kudos!
Calling all you wonderful wrestler/promotions! If you have events/fundraisers that you would like to see highlighted in the Good Hands section or are an athlete/company who would like to take on the Forward Five, please reach out to me at either @olskoololfool on Twitter or by e-mail, olskoololfool@gmail.com