BRAD'S COMMENTARY  
Commentary for April, 2001

As I sit here slightly inebriated, I figure that now is as good as any time to FINALLY update my commentary.

There is so much to write about, but I think that I am going to relegate this one to one topic. As many of you know I am the head booker for a wrestling organization in Oklahoma City. Well, now I guess I should say WAS. That’s right. I am no longer a part of this company’s family. There is a story behind that, and I will now attempt to share that with you.

No one particular incident led to this happening. It has been something that has been going on for years. Longer than I have been in the business. But in one way or another, I have been associated with this organization since 1994, and have heard all the complaints, and it has always been the same. I don’t know why I thought that I could change anything.

Let me run down a bit of the problems that this company has. The company is run by a wily business man, who could sale snow to an Eskimo. He knows all the tricks of the business world, however, sadly, he doesn’t even begin to know much about the wrestling business. I am not exactly sure what it is, but he has his own agenda. The boys’ interests certainly are not on his mind.

The members of the so-called “front office” aren’t much different. A pack of liars is what they are. Constantly promising things that they themselves know will never happen. “Hey, we are getting TV this week,” “You are ready to go to New York,” “That was a great match,” were a few of my favorites, among others.

Now, let me catch you up to speed. Nearly 6 months ago, I was involved in an incident with a fan which resulted in a 6 month suspension. During that 6 months away from the rings of Oklahoma wrestling, I took the opportunity to learn a new aspect of the business--booking. I am not going to say that I have any regrets because I don’t. I loved most of it, learned a lot, and had a lot of fun along the way. But by the same token, I put up with a lot of shit, and dealt with these people way more than I ever cared to. I was led to believe that I was the authority, that I was the “head booker”. Yeah right. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I was simply given pseudo authority. That’s all it was. I was put in front of the boys, making decisions, but every time I turned around, someone from higher up was overriding me. It turned into a nice, little constant headache.

Decisions were made behind my back, which made me look like an idiot when I was telling the boys things, which they had already been told otherwise about. That is where I drew the line. Enough was enough.

SO what did I do about it? Well, last Sunday one hour before a scheduled show, me and fellow booker/worker Bryan Cruize walked out of the show, leaving them up a creek without a paddle. And boy were they lost? We went and grabbed a bite to eat, and returned to the building where we snuck in the back door and watched the show. Man, was it rough? They didn’t follow any of the storylines from the previous week. Most of the matches were harder than hell to watch. But I digress…

All along while I was booking, I was truly aiming to make a difference. I tried my hardest to get on a personal level with all the workers. To find out what best suited them and what they offered to the show, no matter what it was. I tried to give everyone an opportunity to bring what they had to the table. I was the “defender of the little guys.” As long as I was in charge, everyone got a fair chance, so long as they tried. While I was in charge there were great ideas generating through those booking meetings. (Thanks to Jim, Bryan, John, and James). We had a great crew, each member added something else unique to the creative process. For a while, we were even given the freedom to book as we pleased. As a result, the shows got better, the crowd got rowdier, and the boys worked harder. So it was a better product all around.

But as I said earlier, enough was enough. I couldn’t take the bullshit any longer. SO I did what was best for me, and walked. I feel bad for some of the workers, who will now fade into the wonderful world of jobbing. But for once, I had to do what was best for ME!

In the wake of this whole incident, I am left to reflect on the business, and life itself. You bust your ass for something. You shed your blood, sweat, and tears. You give it your all--your heart and soul. And what do you get in return? Not a goddamn thing! Not so much as one phone call from the front office to say, “Hey, don’t leave,” “What will it take to make you stay.” or even, “Sorry it had to come to this, thanks for everything.” None of that! Although I guess what I did wasn’t totally in vain. I had several of the boys call me and basically beg me not to leave. So thanks to them. I know that at least in some respect I was appreciated.

So closes another chapter in the serious F’ed up book of Brad Michaels. Next week (should I actually decide to update) I will run down my thoughts on the roster of the aforementioned wrestling organization. Thanks for reading.