Mike Blood Leaves NRWL

As previously announced on his final "Sweat & Tears" column, Mike Blood has decided to part ways with the NRWL. Mike has been a part of NRWL since its inception and is a member of the Hall of Fame.

Mr. Sunderland had the following to say about Mr. Blood's departure.

Mike will be missed here in the NRWL. He and I have worked together from the start of Masters of Wrestling back in the early 90's. He always says that he wouldn't have had a career without me but I think it is the other way around. MoW needed great talent in the early days and without him, I'm not sure we would have made it. When Mr. Charles and I started the NRWL, I knew I needed him here to get the ball rolling. I can't thank him enough.

I understand his reasons for leaving and wish him the best. I know that what comes next for Mike Blood will be great for wrestling fans everywhere. I know I am looking forward to it. Thank you, Mike. For everything.

The NRWL wishes Mike Blood the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Sweat & Tears: A Fond Farewell - A Look Back

In the autumn of 2003, I was offered a job by my old Masters of Wrestling boss, Mr. Sunderland, to wrestle for his new company, the New Revolution Wrestling League. He started it with his old friend, Super Century Strong Fighter owner, Mr. Charles. The two of them ran wrestling promotions in the 90's and I was a part of the rich history they built. I couldn't turn down the opportunity to get in the ring one last time.

My run in the NRWL was short and mostly uneventful. My only real success was winning the tag team championship on the night of my retirement. Regardless, I never looked at my NRWL run as disappointing. I knew, even then, that something big was growing. Having MoW and SCSF together as one promotion was a wrestling fan's dream. Now, nearly eight years later, I can say with complete certainty that it lived up to that expectation I had.

When Mr. Charles and Mr. Sunderland said they were starting things up again earlier this year, I was excited. This season has offered us some of the best talent we could ever ask for. It's hard to really pick out weak links. I am excited for what is coming up in the months and years ahead. The NRWL has really found their footing and I believe it is the best it has ever been.

With that said, it is with mixed emotions that I am writing "Blood and Tears" for the last time. Immediately following my retirement from the ring, I spent time working behind the scenes for NRWL and have been here ever since. Well, there was that brief period where I came back into the spotlight as the manager of John Fraust! It has been a very fun and rewarding time for me here in this company that I love but there are some personal goals I have had for some time. I think that now is the right time to pursue those goals so I am leaving the NRWL to try my hand at something new.

I would like to thank Mr. Charles and Mr. Sunderland for the opportunity to be a part of this great wrestling promotion. Without them, I would not have had the career I did. I'd also like to thank the wrestlers for putting on great matches week after week. The NRWL is lucky to have talent like you! Finally, I'd like to thank you, the fans. I have always said the best fans in the world are here and you prove it time and time again.

I hope to see you all again in my future endeavors, but until then, keep your shoulders off the mat!

Sweat and Tears - Things Moving Fast

May 9th 2011

Forget about me? I hope not! Things have been busy here in the NRWL. Where to begin? Let’s start with the action in the ring.

The talent has really picked up the ball and run with it. I believe this season’s roster is the best we’ve ever had and I think they are getting better each week. I think that Ash and Slam Jackson are looking like two true heroes of the ring. Both men possess magnetic personalities and deliver exciting performances in the ring. These two on their own can be the tent poles of the company but as fate would have it they have come together as a team. The tent poles can potentially become a pillar. We will see them together for the first time tomorrow. We’ll see if the partnership lasts more than one night.

Speaking of teams, Marty Anderson and Slugger Malone have formed an interesting team. When I heard they were put in a match together, I never saw them winning the match but here they are weeks later as a solid team. Marty Anderson has an incredible array of moves in the ring and he might be one of the best promo guys in the business. His already aggressive ring style is further hardened by Slugger Malone’s roughhouse style. Slugger Malone is already benefitting from his partnership with Anderson. His work in promos are improving and he is quickly developing some new skills in the ring. I suspect these two will be big players in the near future.

Bruno Kowalski has a never quit attitude and his challenge to Rex Anarchy further proves he is taking every advantage he can to get to the top. He was promoted with a lot of hype before the season started and I don’t think it was undeserved.

Scotty “The Body” Paris may be the next Flawless Fred. He had some stumbles early on but like Bruno Kowalski, he is doing everything he can to make an impact. The difference between them is that Scotty does it in a way that rubs people the wrong way. He is already making for a great antagonist in the NRWL.

I could keep going but I’ll finish off with Johnny Young and Mark Blood. These two are in the middle of a feud that seems to be only beginning. Johnny Young has a powerful personality and his ego rivals Scotty “The Body”. Mark Blood, on the other hand, has always had a fierce competitive spirit and is unwilling to settle for anything less than first place. I don’t know where this is going to go but I suspect the fans are going to benefit from the magic they are going to make in the ring going forward.

The NRWL is also working on some new projects to keep things interesting as well. There isn’t much in the way of details yet but there is a Tag Team event in the works. I don’t have many details on this one but it seems like it will be pretty unique and is a major departure from the norm. I hear it will be announced soon so you should keep an eye on the News page.

Finally, there are some juicy bits of information I do have knowledge of. First, the NRWL has unlocked a wealth of photos and videos from previous NRWL seasons. They are going to be used for an NRWL Classics page that will bring some nostalgia back for those longtime fans.

Speaking of nostalgia, I am very proud to be a part of the NRWL Hall of Fame committee and we are looking to add a number of inductees this year. Currently, John Fraust and myself are in the Hall of Fame. In the coming months, the number of Hall of Famers is going to explode. The NRWL has had a monstrous wealth of talent over the years and it is important to recognize them. We’re still in the early stages of this one but expect to see a flurry of information coming as we get closer to the induction ceremonies.

Well, that’s it for me this week. Until next time, keep your shoulders off the mat!

Sweat and Tears - NRWL Champion Born

March 24th 2011

Everyone has been asking me what I thought of the NRWL Championship Tournament. In short, I thought it was a great first event that showed a path for a bright future. We saw some real standouts and some fantastic matches.

I think some of the performers who we should be keeping an eye on closely are Slam Jackson, Bruno Kowalski, Storm Harrison, Scotty Paris, Pedro Muchacho, Quasar, and the NRWL Champion, Rex Anarchy.

It would be wrong of me to ignore the amazing match between Pedro Muchacho and Quasar. Quasar went on to win (and go to the finals) but neither man really came out as the star of the match. The match went fifteen minutes which is unheard of in a normal one-on-one matchup in the NRWL. It could have gone either way at any moment. I agree with everyone else, this matchup was the highlight of the night and I am really looking forward to the upcoming rematch. If any match deserved a rematch, its this one.

I should take a moment to speak about Rex Anarchy. I was impressed by his arsenal of wrestling moves. He really performs like a classic wrestler. He’s a worthy champion but if these Sons of Darkness are as capable as they are intimidating, I think he may be in trouble.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a “Blood & Tears” column without a little behind the scenes education, would it? The most surprising thing about the NRWL Champion is that he almost wasn’t a part of this tournament at all! It’s true. Rex Anarchy was the very last man added to the roster. In fact, the initial sixteen men were already in place. The NRWL strives on bringing in top talent that can be versatile in the ring and they had some reservations about a few wrestlers on the roster. I won’t name names but at the last minute Rex Anarchy took someone’s spot. Who would have thought that the first night of his NRWL career would be his biggest? Don’t feel too bad about the wrestler he replaced. The man he bumped off the roster ended up being signed as an NRWL Prospect (think of it like the minor leagues). You’ll likely see him sometime in the future.

I can’t wait to see where things go from here. Until next time, keep your shoulders off the mat!

Sweat and Tears - NRWL Roster

March 10th 2011

Well, the roster for season four has been officially announced. I am very excited for this lineup. It’s too soon to know who the real standouts are but I thought I would share a few thoughts and answer a few questions as well.

Overall, I think this roster has more traditional wrestling talent than previous years. I think the NRWL is going for a slightly different style of wrestling and it should be interesting to see how it works out. There is still diversity but I think we are going to see styles that match well together instead of clashing. From my experience, the best matches are ones where the wrestlers can work off each other’s styles. It’s going to look good, I can promise you that. I think we could see some of the greatest matches in NRWL history this season.

This is a primarily young roster and that brings positives and negatives. Younger wrestlers usually have more energy, take more risks, and really push to prove themselves. I expect to see that here. On the downside, youth also means inexperience. They can be sloppy and they can make mistakes. I expect to see that here as well.

Before I finish this post, I’d like to answer a few questions that I am sure are going to be asked of me.

Yes, Mark Blood is my son. I trained him and prepared him for his entrance to the NRWL but I have no intention of using this forum to promote him over other wrestlers. Obviously, as a father, I am rooting for him but I intend to keep things professional. I have a job to educate and entertain you, the fans, not fuel my own agenda.

No, I was not involved in Mark being hired. That was all worked out between the NRWL and him. I am truly proud to say that he’s earned the right to perform for you.

I was not aware of Johnny Young’s inclusion on this season’s roster. I was as surprised as you were. As for my thoughts, I am pleased to hear it. Johnny Young was a consummate performer in the past and he appears to be even better now. Now if only he can keep that ego in check!

The NRWL Championship Tournament is going to be announced very soon (perhaps even as this post goes up). I can’t wait to watch it. Part of me wishes I was in it but I suppose that is always the burden of the retired wrestler. Next time, I will share my thoughts on the tournament. Until then, keep your shoulders off the mat.

Sweat and Tears - Reborn From History

February 28th 2011

Welcome back, fans!

After a long absence, the NRWL is back for a fourth season. I am excited to have the opportunity to share my thoughts on NRWL current events and on wrestling itself. This season is going to be interesting for a few reasons. We are going to be treated to a new roster and because of that, it’s going to be a completely new experience. At the same time, this is what I believe to be the mature phase of the NRWL. It finally stands on its own from its predecessors.

The NRWL opened its doors in 2003 but its roots actually go back to the mid-1990s. Back then, Mr. Sunderland ran “Masters of Wrestling” (MoW), a promotion I spent most of my career wrestling for. At the same time, Mr. Charles ran a promotion called “Super Century Strong Fighter” (SCSF). While they probably should have been competing against each other, they cross-promoted instead. They even held unified pay-per-view events. They operated as two separate companies but I don’t think either one of them would have survived without the other.

Eventually, both SCSF and MoW shut their doors. Mr. Sunderland and Mr. Charles weren’t done with wrestling, however. They became agents for unsigned wrestlers. During this phase of their careers, Mr. Sunderland brought the wrestling world John Fraust, an NWRL Hall of Famer. Mr. Charles, who had run a smaller promotion called SlamDay Night Wrestling (SDNW) during the SCSF days, brought a former SDNW wrestler named WarHead to the spotlight and gave him his big break along with another legendary wrestler, Cujo. Fans will remember them as the Bad Seeds.

At some point, both men must have gotten the itch to run their own promotion again instead of shopping all this great talent around. The end result of this itch is the NRWL. This symbolic merging of SCSF and MoW was a fan’s dream come true. The rest is history.

I think the first three seasons, while great in their own right, were not the true vision of the NRWL. I think season four will be. This is a clean break. The roster is fresh and new and promises to give the NRWL its own face, finally stepping out of the shadow of SCSF and MoW. The roster is going to be announced very shortly and I can’t wait to learn more about these stars. Mr. Charles and Mr. Sunderland have a good eye for talent and for them to bank their promotion on a brand new roster, I think we’re in for a real treat.

As a fan myself, I’m looking forward to experiencing the excitement with you. Until next time, keep your shoulders off the mat.