WFWF SuperBrawl IX: No More Heroes

SuperBrawl season never ceases to amaze me. Thousands of fans from around the world flock to be a part of the biggest event in the WFWF calendar, millions more pay their 25 bucks and watch at home. Sponsors throw extortionate amounts of money at the fat cats who are running this 'company', because they know that so many people who don't really care about the WFWF, who don't really care about professional wrestling, who couldn't tell you a thing that's happened in the last eleven months, will be tuning in to the biggest show of the year. To be a part of something 'special'.

And that inevitably rubs off on everyone connected to this sport. SuperBrawl is seen by even the most committed of fans as being, on a higher level than everything else. Professional wrestlers don't just dream of becoming the WFWF World Champion – supposedly the highest honour this sport can provide – but they dream of achieving it here, while the world watches on. It's somehow more of an accomplishment to do it at SuperBrawl.

I don't like SuperBrawl.

I know, I know. That's blasphemy.

The truth is that SuperBrawl is, at its heart, a cash cow. Nothing less, nothing more. It's a money making machine. It represents everything I have taken issue with. It is the definitive example of the commercialization of wrestling. Of sport more generally.

Where everyone else sees the pinnacle of professional wrestling, the ultimate celebration of our sport. I see a heartless, passionless, soulless event. An event where the most marketable, rather than the best, wrestlers are pitted against one another. An event where more attention is paid to what matches would help shift merchandise, than what matches would ensure the highest quality in the ring.

Scars & Stripes at least offered some guarantee that one competitor in the main event of the biggest show of the year would have to earn their place, but it's clearly been decided by the higher ups that even that's too inconvenient. That it leaves too much room for a SuperBrawl main event that won't maximize profits and minimize risk.

I mean call me crazy, but isn't it a little bit convenient that of the six competitors that are going to be competing in the SuperBrawl main event, two are the most loathed men in the promotion and three are the superstars who move more merchandise than anybody else? I mean Yukio Blaze? Seriously? We're shoehorning a man I dealt with pretty conclusively last SuperBrawl, into the main event of this SuperBrawl? Am I really supposed to believe that that's about ensuring the highest level of competition? That it's not about shifting as many 'Random Hero' lunch boxes and t-shirts as possible before the old dog is finally put out of his misery?

I'm not buying it. And I know that it's not a popular position, but it is decisions like that, special treatment for those who make the WFWF a profit, that will turn people away from this sport soon enough. People will vote with their feet eventually, if you throw people like that down our throats because all the kids love 'em.

If SuperBrawl was what the WFWF claims, the ultimate celebration of professional wrestling, the clash of the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet, then maybe I'd get behind it. But it's not. It's not what's advertised, I don't think it's melodramatic to call it theft. Hard working people throw their money at what they're told is the pinnacle of professional wrestling and what they get is a carefully stage managed production put together by people whose sole intent is to milk them dry.

But you know, there's a theme developing. I've said it about the press so many times, that they are an incredibly valuable tool for the WFWF, for the establishment, but at the same time they have the potential to be a superb weapon to use against them. The same is true of SuperBrawl. This is the biggest event the WFWF has, it draws a massive audience, and that is a powerful thing. Yes it's great for the businessmen, financially, and that's all they're concerned about. But for me? That audience is a huge opportunity. That audience is a chance to back up what I am saying to millions and millions of people who at the very least have a passing interest in this great sport.

SuperBrawl may be a capitalist's wet dream, a chance to exploit fans, a chance to exploit wrestlers. But it is also this WFWF's soft underbelly. It is the best opportunity I have to strike at the businessmen who wish to devalue our sport, to strike at the sponsors who don't give two s***s about the product they're sponsoring.

Because the whole world is watching, and if they see me beat The Future, they will see that there is no place for men like him, 'superstars', 'heroes', in the WFWF. There is only room for athletes. And if they see me outperform Drakz, Trace Demon, Samael Ahriman, Josh Dean, Cameron Stone, Yukio Blaze, David Brennan, Lucas Crowe, whoever you care to name, on what is supposedly this companies most important night, then that sends a huge message. That tells the whole world, that there is something in what I'm saying. That my message is rooted in a fundamental truth. And when that idea begins to be considered, eventually accepted, by that many people, the WFWF will change. It will have to. Because the money that the higher-ups have followed so diligently, it's going to disappear. Slowly but surely the stars who are marketable, because they have the right look, because they're charismatic, or because they push boundaries that don't need to be pushed, will stop drawing the crowds. And the athletes, those who are the best professional wrestlers on the planet, will be what the people demand.

I may not like it, but SuperBrawl is a big occasion. And this SuperBrawl has the potential to be incredibly significant. Winning here, doing so in an impressive manner, that could be all it takes to completely change the way the WFWF operates. That could be all I need to do, to bring about the change this promotion, this sport, so desperately needs.

And yet, truth be told, I'm struggling.

I'm struggling to give SuperBrawl my undivided attention. I'm struggling to focus on what could be the most important night in this companies history.

I'm struggling because... he did it again.

I failed again.

---

Gorilla position, that's where all the interesting stuff happens. I've gotten fairly good at keeping my emotions in check when I'm in the ring, when the cameras are on. But, like everybody else, I have to let my emotions out sometimes. We all have to vent.

Losing to Trace Demon, letting him keep up the pretence that he's good for Lucas Crowe and giving him momentum heading into his shot at the WFWF World Championship, that f***ing hurt. I should have finished that match before Ante got in there, I gave him the opportunity to pin Ante and it f***ing sucks. I'm not proud of it, but my response to that defeat involved repositioning most of the objects in Gorilla, fairly, how can I put this diplomatically? It involved repositioning most of Gorilla fairly aggressively.

Thankfully the media are kept out of here. Unfortunately 'friends and family' aren't and in a moment of weakness I had allowed Poppy, who was treating this very much as an opportunity to get a scoop, to gain access. Fortunately my mood was pretty obvious and she wasn't stupid enough to ask me anythi...

Poppy Yates: Joe, another defeat to Trace Demon, how are you feeling?

Oh apparently she is stupid enough.

I've got to admit, it takes some balls to ask someone who has literally just thrown a £2000 monitor into a wall 'how they're doing' and I respected that just enough to not rip the microphone from her hand and beat her to death with it there and then.

Joe Bishop: Are you f***ing kidding me?

She took that as a cue to lower her microphone, good call.

Poppy Yates: Sorry... you did say I could do a post-match interview... it would really help put my channel on the map.

I made a point of slowly looking round the room at the carnage I'd just created, both as she said that and for a good thirty seconds before responding.

Joe Bishop: And it didn't cross your mind that I might have had a change of heart?

I was trying my best to control my temper, but I'd just about got my energy back from the first outburst and I was ready to blow again.

Poppy Yates: Sorry.

Have you ever had an uncontrollable urge to kick a water dispenser? Turns out it hurts.

Joe Bishop: Argh! He did it again!

Poppy Yates: Calm down. It's one match, it's not going to change anything.

Joe Bishop: One match?

Poppy Yates: You didn't even get pinned, relax.

Joe Bishop: Relax? It's a f***ing disaster. How can I take a stand, claim to represent a better approach to wrestling after my seven millionth defeat to Trace Demon. You think The Future watched that and didn't rub his hands together? I'm a walkover.

Poppy Yates: You're overreacting, come on, you need a drink.

Joe Bishop: No I really don't. I need you to f*** off.

She obliged, thank God. I headed back to my car, deliberately avoiding picking my stuff up from the locker room, and sat there for a good two or three hours. Just contemplating it. Here I am again, still just a loser.

---

I've never held back before.

Don't get me wrong, I've been poor. I've gone through periods where I've not been as driven as I should have been. For large parts of my career I was dissatisfied with the WFWF without being able to consciously put my finger on why. And the result was I went into matches in the wrong state of mind, and that led to a fair number of defeats.

But I've never given less than I'm capable of.

I've always thrown everything I have at my opponent. Often those efforts were futile, and I'm treated as damaged goods because of it. I'm treated as someone who has ideas above their station. And I've been fine with that, because I've always known that I've given everything I had and that at some point, it would click and I'd prove them all wrong.

At The Gate, I held back.

That's what really hurts.

Obviously, losing to Trace Demon again sucked and I think everybody who knows me, knows just how much that's going to eat away at me until I get the chance to put it right.

But it's the fact that I didn't give 100% that really makes me feel sick. It's that, that's left a sinking feeling in my stomach.

I went in to The Gate so focused on making sure I didn't undermine the revolution I'm trying to create. So focused on making sure I fought the instinct to cause as much damage as I could. So focused on making sure that I didn't let my desire for vengeance, my craving to remove Trace Demon and what he stands for from the WFWF, lead me to go against what I believe professional wrestling should be.

And I did it. I fought those instincts. But it came at an expense that I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with.

I could have finished that match before Trace and Lucas got anywhere near Ante, if I'd been ruthless. If I'd let that killer instinct kick in, if I'd given everything I could to win that wrestling match. But I didn't. I held back, I was fighting myself as much as I was fighting Lucas Crowe and Trace Demon.

And the end result, well it was hardly surprising. Another defeat for Joe Bishop at the hands of his former 'mentor'.

You know generally, I struggle with losing. I've made that quite clear before. I've been known to be bitter, angry, outraged, by defeat. But it usually doesn't make me question my approach fundamentally. I react, respond to defeat, of course I do – I work on specifics. Everybody should. But because I've always given everything I had, it hasn't made me question the way I go about things.

I find myself sitting here, a week before facing The Future in a match that could make or break this revolution. This re-imagining of professional wrestling that I'm desperately trying to achieve. And I'm finding it very difficult to justify an approach that has not only just cost me a wrestling match, but an approach that made that result inevitable.

I don't want to be part of a WFWF that isn't about competition, that views professional wrestling as anything other than a sport with rules and boundaries that have to be respected. But I'm a realist.

I know that if I lose wrestling matches because of self-imposed boundaries, and then give grand speeches about 'proper wrestling', I'm going to be laughed out of town. You can't change opinions like that, you won't achieve anything if your approach is incompatible with success. I can't help but question, right now, if it is. If the approach I'm adopting can't succeed in the WFWF. If this promotion is just too far gone down this path.

I just know that you have to win. Losers don't change a thing.

---

Andy Yates: Oh give it a rest!

Joe Bishop is a fantastic athlete, a man who is really passionate about this sport and driven to make it better. That's difficult not to admire, but my word he can whinge with the best of them.

Andy Yates: Your make-shift partner ate a pin in a match nobody's going to remember three weeks from now. Who gives a s***? You think it's going to change anything? Of course it isn't. Not unless you let it.

Joe Bishop: Are you serious? It's undone everything I've been working towards.

The worst thing is I think he might honestly believe that. He's so close to putting professional wrestling on a healthy course and he's going to throw it away for nothing if someone doesn't talk some sense in to him.

Andy Yates: Grow up. You lost, it happens.

No response, he just shook his head. I developed a lot of respect watching Joe Bishop wrestle this last year or so, he's a talented athlete and he's got principles that I can really get behind. But I didn't realise just how much of a sore loser he is.

Andy Yates: The way the WFWF is geared up nowadays this match doesn't mean a thing. For better or worse you've been helping people like Poppy sell SuperBrawl as the biggest event in pro-wrestling. So you got out there, beat Future, and everyone forgets about this. Put things into perspective or you are going to ruin everything you've been working for.

Joe Bishop: Maybe one loss means nothing to you, but it means something to me.

Great, he's not going to accept his own logic either. Give me strength.

Andy Yates: If you want to change the WFWF, achieve something here, then you're going to have to learn to cope with a defeat. Stop acting like a child.

Joe Bishop: And what would you know about achieving anything?

I could tell he regretted that the minute it left his mouth, but I haven't got time for this. There's no point trying to help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

I decided to risk getting my head bitten off again and chimed in.

Poppy Yates: He's right you know.

I do genuinely want to help Joe.

I mean exclusive interviews with a WFWF World Champion would be a lot more useful than exclusive interviews with that guy who once lost a few wrestling matches. But it isn't really about my career. That's an added bonus. I do like Joe. The not infrequent references to me as a 'cockroach' or a 'leech' aren't especially endearing, but he has his own charm.

Poppy Yates: I mean he could have put it more delicately. But this isn't doing you any favours. Making so much of one defeat, it won't help.

Joe Bishop: I'm just being realistic.

Poppy Yates: You're not though.

I doubt he'll pay the slightest bit of attention to what I'm saying. Not entirely sure why I'm even trying, but it needs to be said.

Poppy Yates: You've come back to the WFWF, won your first three matches pretty comfortably, were a millisecond away from pinning the International Champion for a second time, and now you're doubting yourself. You've convinced yourself that you're incapable of achieving what you want to achieve, and why? Because Trace Demon pinned Ante Whitner? What's realistic about that?

He struggled for a comeback, which I'm pretty sure is a good sign, because he's usually very quick to tell someone they're wrong.

Joe Bishop: How can I stand in front of people, tell them I represent something better. That the WFWF they've grown up with is tainted, that it's being dragged down by people like The Future, like Drakz, like... Trace Demon, with a straight face if I just can't beat him?

Poppy Yates: You can.

Joe Bishop: Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

What absolute rubbish.

Poppy Yates: That's deep.

Not sure he appreciated the sarcasm, hypocrite.

Joe Bishop: I just keep failing.

Poppy Yates: Well that's probably because you're worrying about the past when you should be focusing on the present. You spend every waking moment replaying losses to Trace Demon, you've got a picture of him on your wall. Just forget about it, you want to make a difference? Then focus on The Future, focus on SuperBrawl, win that battle.

I rested my hand on his arm, and smiled. He's obviously not that warm, but I could tell I'd won this one.

Joe Bishop: Thanks. You're right.

---

She is right.

They both are.

Trace Demon has a mansion and a pool in my head and it's holding me back. It's a f***ing straitjacket.

I have given a man who craves power and control, unlimited power in my head and he doesn't even have to monitor it.

Right now it's the one thing stopping me from going in to matches without overthinking what I'm doing. It's the only thing that's forcing me to hold back, out of fear that I won't be able to control myself in that ring.

It's line in the sand time.

It's got to stop.

Because right now I am so, so close to changing this promotion. To changing professional wrestling. I am so close to achieving everything I've been striving to achieve. And Trace Demon can only stop that, if I let him stay camped out in my head.

I let him play the villain, I try to play the hero, and I'm doing everything they want me to do. And I'm stopping myself from going out there and doing what I do better than anyone else, when I just let it happen.

SuperBrawl as a concept, is flawed. But SuperBrawl IX is my stage, SuperBrawl IX is where I can spark the fuse. It's where I can get the ball rolling, begin a real serious change in the way this promotion operates.

But it's only going to happen, if I am focused solely on The Future, SuperBrawl and doing what I have to do to make it happen. The Gate, The Final Revolution, End Game, Battleground, Revolution in the UK, they're the past. They're done. And raking them back up, replaying them in my head, is stopping me from breaking through that glass ceiling. Shattering it, not just for me, but for everybody who thinks like me, for everyone who has worked for years and years perfecting their craft, becoming the best this sport has to offer, only to be turned down because 'they don't have the right look' or 'they're not big enough'.

I'm evicting Trace Demon. Bring on The Future, bring on SuperBrawl, bring on the revolution.

Bring on a new WFWF.

---

I find myself taking refuge in Andy's wrestling school more and more frequently.

The WFWF, the locker room, the atmosphere, it's a headache. Because there are so many people there who are so far down a path that I wholeheartedly disagree with. But here? Here is a group of young talented wrestlers who love this sport, who all have big ambitions, and a real drive to achieve something special. I find that incredibly appealing.

And of course, here, I can make a real impact. Here I have a real chance to influence the next generation of professional wrestlers, a chance to nurture their love for this sport.

I can't pass up an opportunity like that. Give me a heart to heart with a young rookie who wants to learn about this sport, over a row of beers with some grizzled old veteran who's just concerned with using his fame to pick up slags in bars, any day of the week.

One of those rookies who I'd found myself mentoring was a kid called Eoin O'Connor, who ironically leads a stable of Irish stereotypes who do nothing but drink Guinness and pick up chicks in bars. To his credit though, Eoin was pretty switched on. Unlike his stablemates he's got a real keen mind for the business and a passion that just about matches my own. I like him.

Eoin O'Connor: SuperBrawl, the big one, man you must be excited, biggest night of the year.

But he can be thick as s*** sometimes.

Joe Bishop: I'm thinking of it as more of a necessary evil, but yeah, sure.

Eoin O'Connor: Man you're not excited? F***. I'd kill to be where you are, taking on one of the biggest legends in this sport in front of one of the biggest audiences in the history of professional wrestling. This should be one of the best nights of your life, surely?

Joe Bishop: It's one of the most important, of course, and if it goes wrong it could easily be one of the worst. But...

I struggled to find the words, as he looked on perplexed.

Joe Bishop: This match with Future, it's just about getting the ball rolling. I want to completely reshape the way we think about the WFWF, and I'm excited to get started, but I won't be happy till it's done.

He clearly didn't agree that wrestling at SuperBrawl was anything other than the greatest thing that could happen to a professional wrestler. And I couldn't be too angry about that because I felt exactly the same way when I was his age. I couldn't have been more delirious going into my match with Jon O'Deeves for the National Championship at SuperBrawl VI.

Eoin O'Connor: I hope I never get that disenchanted, I can't think of anything I want more than a match at a SuperBrawl.

Joe Bishop: Well lose those two jackasses and I'm sure you'll get it, one day atleast.

I motioned towards his partners as they did a pitiful job of hiding their tenth cans of the morning. My suggestion clearly making Eoin uneasy, but it has to be said... repeatedly, until hopefully one day it sinks in. He quickly changed the subject.

Eoin O'Connor: Still it must be pretty exciting to take on The Future, I mean he's an absolute legend. To be one of the only wrestlers of this generation to step foot in the ring with him, that's huge.

Joe Bishop: It's a big opportunity. There's a mystique around past stars that makes a victory all the more impressive. It's a real chance to impress my message on people.

Eoin O'Connor: Sure. You're confident then?

Joe Bishop: Yeah. I am. I mean coming off a loss always makes you feel a bit uneasy, but I can't let a chance like this slip out of my hands. You know?

Eoin O'Connor: Of course.

He would, every match is like that when you're a rookie. When you're looking to make your break. Every match should be like that full stop. It's only a system that puts some nights above others that stops that being the case.

Eoin O'Connor: You're really not excited for SuperBrawl? You said it yourself, SuperBrawl is the biggest stage this company has. You seemed pretty up for it.

I shrugged. I could have said that sometimes, extremely rarely, you have to say one thing to the cameras, and another behind close doors. That you have to comprimise your instincts a little, to make as big a splash as possible. But he'd stopped me before I'd got anywhere near to coming up with how to articulate it. And I was thankful for that in all honesty.

Eoin O'Connor: Hmm. Anyway I was wondering if you could help me out with this submission move I've been working on?

Joe Bishop: Sure, lead away.

I motioned towards the ring in the centre of the gym. But before we could make our way over dumb and dumber came over, off their heads. And of course Eoin went into full on camouflage mode – one can only assume he was continuing an earlier conversation – lest they realise he's not a complete moron.

Eoin O'Connor: Alright lads? So anyway I'm in the alleyway taking a leak, and I catch 'em knocking boots right there.

Joe Bishop: Goodbye Eoin.

Eoin O'Connor: Yeh, I'll catch ya later boss.

---

It's true, I did say that when I called The Future out. SuperBrawl is the biggest stage the WFWF has.

Superbrawl is, whether I like it or not, the platform available to professional wrestlers, the opportunity for us to really make our mark. And the better it does, the bigger it is, the louder the message we can send. If my message is heard by enough like-minded people, then maybe we'll get this sort of audience every week.

With that in mind, maybe it's time to throw the dog a bone.

Poppy Yates may get on my nerves at times, and her occupation isn't exactly helping the sport I love. But she's helped me get my head in the right place, and that's probably the best thing anybody could do for professional wrestling right now. I owe her something for that.

If helping her out means making the potential SuperBrawl audience even bigger, if it generates interest in my match, then it's got to be worth it. I don't enjoy playing the game, but I have to. For a little while longer at least, and then hopefully, when I've achieved what I'm setting out to achieve, I won't have to do it every again.

Joe Bishop: Look, I'm sorry about losing my cool after The Gate. You want to do an interview for your channel, then I'm happy to help.

Poppy Yates: Awesome, thanks.

Joe Bishop: So when do yo...

Poppy Yates: Just give me five minutes.

And off she scuttled to collect her notebooks and camera.

A short while later she reappeared, her hands overflowing with journals and notebooks and all kinds of utter nonsense which is apparently required to ask someone questions.

I watched on bemused as she set up the camera on a tripod and then finally kicked things off.

Poppy Yates: Bla, bla, bla, boring spiel, yawn, yawn, yawn, thanks for watching this podcast please subscribe, bla, bla, bla, look at me I'm doing a video aren't I clever.

Okay so I wasn't paying complete attention to that bit, but that's basically what she said.

Poppy Yates: I'm joined today by former three time WFWF National Champion, two time International Champion, Joe Bishop as he looks forward to the biggest match of his career, against The Future at SuperBrawl. How are you feeling Joe? Ready for the big event?

Joe Bishop: Of course, I've been wrestling my entire life and I know that every time you step into that ring you're going to face a real challenge, I'm always ready.

Poppy Yates: The Future has a huge number of accolades, he's a former World Champion, a WFWF Hall of Famer, a National Champion, a Tag Champion, he's a legend. Is it intimidating going up against someone with a record like that?

Joe Bishop: Not really. One of the first thing you learn is that letting anything, anyone, intimidate you, is a recipe for disaster. You will lose if you're too worried you might lose, I know, I've done it enough times myself. But I know I can beat The Future, all that time I've spent wrestling around the world, learning from some of the very best this sport has to offer, it's prepared me for matches, occasions, like this. I'm ready to make it count.

Poppy Yates: Does coming into that match on the back of a defeat effect your mindset?

Wow, thanks. Just when I thought she might be trying to help, she obviously just wanted the reaction on camera. Not giving her the satisfaction.

Joe Bishop: Absolutely not, I haven't given it a second thought.

Hope her knowing glare isn't on camera, come on which one of us hasn't told a convenient lie to the press.

Joe Bishop: I'm completely focused on SuperBrawl, going out there, beating The Future and backing up what I've been saying in the build up.

Poppy Yates: Finally I figured we'd do a word association exercise. So I'll throw out a name and you give us your take on that person if you're cool with that.

Joe Bishop: Sure, go ahead.

Boy this should be fun.

Poppy Yates: In the spirit of SuperBrawl let's kick things off with the two men you've gone toe to toe with on wrestling's biggest stage, Jon O'Deeves and Yukio Blaze.

Joe Bishop: I had three really, for me at least, significant encounters with Jon O'Deeves at the start of my WFWF career. He handed me my first loss in the WFWF, and I couldn't cope with that for a long time. I had a lot of animosity towards him, but now? There's no animosity, it's ancient history. Yukio, Yukio is a... Yukio doesn't belong in the main event of SuperBrawl, Yukio doesn't belong at SuperBrawl, he doesn't belong in our ring. But he's taking advantage of a ridiculous system, and you can't really blame him for that.

Poppy Yates: The man you teamed with at The Gate, Ante Whitner.

Joe Bishop: Ante's a talented young wrestler with a great track record. Outside of last week I've had little interaction with him, but he's clearly got real potential. This Golden Opportunity match is a big opportunity for everyone concerned.

Poppy Yates: Frank Lynn.

I guess our little chat went viral if she's interested in my take on Frank Lynn.

Joe Bishop: Again, a bright young wrestler with the potential to go a long way. He's got a lot of lessons to learn, and I'll be watching with interest to see if he learns those lessons. I hope he does, and this would be a good occasion to prove he's moving in the right direction

Poppy Yates: Phillip Schneider.

Joe Bishop: You know there was a point when the WFWF could have been saved. When this promotion began making small steps towards being a proper, genuine sporting organization. A promotion that was doing what it could to change things. I didn't appreciate the good that was being done at the time, I was a kid who wanted blood, guts, violence and beer. I was an idiot. But in 2007, there were attempts being made by Higher Authority, to change the way we look at professional wrestling. Obo wasn't having that, Obo just wanted to hurt people, he wanted to inflict pain and he did that and then some. In the eyes of kids like me, that made him a legend. And I firmly believe that mindset that he introduced paved the way for the Hardcore Championship, for the likes of Jake Slash and plenty of others who should never have stepped foot in a WFWF ring. He had his reasons for the things he did, and I agree with some of them, but he did a lot of damage.

Poppy Yates: The late Solomon Crow.

Jesus.

Joe Bishop: Oh please! Listen to yourself. 'The late' Solomon Crow. Is anybody seriously buying that? I'm not interested in Solomon Crow, he's a chapter of my life and my career that I dealt with pretty convincingly. He's a manipulator, not the first, not the last, and he doesn't belong in the WFWF. But if the open-door policy we seem to be running allows him back through the door, and we end up facing each other at some point down the line, then I'll just have to prove that again.

Poppy Yates: Drakz.

Joe Bishop: You mean the longest reigning WFWF Intergalactic Spaceman Champion of all time? You know a lot of the people I have an issue with have inadvertently devalued our sport and this promotion. Drakz and Kyzer did it deliberately, they demeaned professional wrestling for the sake of it. And I'd love to say that our World Champion is a changed man, but I think he showed his true colours when he aligned with Trace Demon and screwed Josh Dean for his own sake. For the sake of keeping hold of that belt he once deliberately demeaned. That's not a champion. And I wish I could say that there are a wealth of better options to lead the WFWF forward who have the chance to win it from him at SuperBrawl. But there just aren't. There are two colour commentators, one never-was who should have hung up his boots several decades ago and one man who's even worse. The only chance we have of coming out of SuperBrawl with a slightly more respectable champion than we have right now is Josh Dean.

Poppy Yates: You're right behind Josh Dean's push to win the World Championship then?

Joe Bishop: Yeah... wooh.

I think that came across as unenthusiastically as it was meant to.

Poppy Yates: I suppose this wouldn't be complete without discussing the 'one man who's even worse' you mentioned, Trace Demon.

Joe Bishop: No Comment.

Oh come on, it's not like anybody doesn't know already.

Poppy Yates: Okay then... Lila Sleater.

Joe Bishop: I... I used to think Lila Sleater was evil. In retrospect, that was a bit misguided. Lila Sleater is not evil, and she's not wilfully bad for the WFWF. She is a product of her surroundings. Like everybody else, she grew up with a WFWF that doesn't represent what professional wrestling should be. So it's hardly surprising that she's incompetent. The question is whether she's going to see that she's incompetent, and if so whether she'll do anything about it. Honestly, I hope she does. She is almost the only person putting forward an alternative to the Trace Demon led, Trace Demon-centric WFWF that we'd have without her. If she wins that struggle, and she opens her eyes to what the WFWF could be, then there's hope. I just can't say I'm optimistic.

Poppy Yates: And finally, the man you will go head to head with at SuperBrawl IX, WFWF Hall of Famer, former World Champion, The Future.

Joe Bishop: You know a lot of people, don't really understand why I wanted this match to happen. Why it was so important to me, that I need to beat The Future in that ring in front of thousands of WFWF fans in attendance and millions watching at home. In many ways it goes back to what I said about Phillip Schneider.

Poppy Yates: How so?

Joe Bishop: Like Schneider, The Future is a man who is seen by the WFWF fans as a legend. His is a face that comes to mind the minute anybody says those four letters. He is the WFWF for thousands and thousands of fans. And he has paved the way for a generation of stars that followed him. Schneider paved the way for violent, psychotic superstars, the ugly face of professional wrestling. Future has paved the way for the cartoon characters, he himself is a superb wrestler, but he's paved the way for untalented jokes, who get employed by the WFWF because they're willing to demean and embarrass themselves in that ring.

I paused, taking a second to make sure my words were selected carefully.

Joe Bishop: That type of 'superstar', will always have a place in the WFWF as long as there is a nostalgia for people like The Future, or Yukio Blaze, people who were concerned more with the reaction they got from the crowd, than they were with getting the 1...2...3 from the referee. And the only way to stop that, to remove these people from what should be a serious sporting organization, is to show the whole world that they don't belong here. That they don't belong in a WFWF ring. That's what I intend to do at SuperBrawl. I intend to show the whole world that there is a right way to approach this sport, and that there's a wrong way. The Future, his approach is bad for professional wrestling, it's bad for the WFWF and I'm going to prove that.

Poppy Yates: Thanks for your time Joe.

Joe Bishop: No problem.

Off went the camera, as Poppy shot me an inquisitive look.

Poppy Yates: Is there anyone you like?

Good question.

---

People like easy solutions.

That's the conclusion I've come to.

The truth is that fans gravitate to The Future, to people like him, because he's comforting. Because he makes things seem simpler than they are.

The sort of fans who've warmed to The Future, are the same fans who loathe Drakz, Trace, Schneider, the same fans who loathed me two years ago. It's easy to think of things in binary terms, in terms of black and white. In terms of good and evil.

That sort of thinking turns sometimes misguided, troubled, often devious or power-hungry people into complete and utter monsters. Monsters with no redeeming features whatsoever. It's an easy trap to fall in to, believe me, I know.

And it also makes it very easy for people who say and do the right things, the people who look gentle or heroic, to be painted as paragons of virtue. Lauded as heroes amongst men.

The Future is comforting to people who live in a world that's inhabited by evil, unscrupulous, monsters. Rather than real ordinary people with real ordinary flaws. He's a clean cut, good guy, who stands up to them.

But does he actually offer a genuine solution to any real problems?

Of course not.

It's a vicious cycle, the people create villains and they create heroes and we go on and on and on, and businessmen make a killing out of it, and we don't actually get anywhere.

The WFWF will only change when we break that cycle.

Right now, the WFWF is a fantasy world. It's become a place that just doesn't reflect reality.

The men and women at the top have obviously contributed to that. They've fed it, nurtured it, helped it grow. But the fans and the wrestlers, people like me, we've got to take some of the blame too. We've let that situation develop. We've taken a brilliant sport, and we've manipulated and twisted it into a fairytale, and nobody outside of the 1% has benefited from that.

The Future is not going to change a thing, he's not going to save anyone. He's as much a part of the problem as anybody else, heck he helped lay the groundwork.

Believe me Futch, I wish that Lila Sleater, Trace Demon, Drakz, the businessmen, I wish they were all comic book villains. It'd be so much easier if they were. If the whole world could see them for what they are, if you could fly in with your cape and your mask and your baseball bat and send them all packing in a 5 minute montage. But they're not comic book villains. They are real, nuanced people, who are each – a long with a lot of their colleagues – damaging the WFWF in their own unique ways. Some are hated, some are loved, but none of them can be brought down by a caped crusader.

They can only be brought down by a complete overhaul of what this fed is, what it means, what it represents.

No more heroes, no more villains, just wrestlers.

You and I, we're going toe-to-toe at SuperBrawl. But it's not about Joe Bishop vs. The Future. Not really. I don't have anything major against you per se. You're a talented wrestler, a former champion who earned that accolade. But it's what you represent, what you've inspired that I have an issue with.

This is, ultimately, a clash of visions. Yours is the same as Wall Street's. It's the status quo, it's a WFWF built around the battle between heroes and villains, good and evil. Though I'm sure it's not conscious on your part – your vision is a WFWF concerned first and foremost with making money. Mine? Mine is a WFWF built around the battles between wrestlers. Mine is a WFWF focused on bringing together the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet and letting them battle to prove who is the best.

Your vision will keep the WFWF languishing, in a state where only one show a year can excite any sort of mass interest in our sport. We're used to having bad choices these days, to picking a lesser evil. But what I'm offering, my vision, it's not a lesser evil. It's a bright future. It's a WFWF that elevates this great sport to the level it deserves.

I know it's a little corny, and I am genuinely sorry. But this place isn't big enough for the both of us.

The WFWF will either be a haven for competition, or it'll be a haven for characters. It will either be driven by profits, or it will be driven by a love of this sport. It will either be a place for heroes and villains, or it will be a place for athletes.

Let's face it, you and I, we may have the best of intentions. We may do what we do because we believe it's right. But we're on different sides of this war. You are part of the problem.

I'm not going to trample you into the mud. I'm not going to obliterate you. You're not a villain that has to be vanquished. But if I want to build a WFWF I can believe in, then I have to undermine you, and everything you stand for. I have to remove the style of wrestling you've popularised from the hearts and minds of everyone associated with this great sport.

SuperBrawl is my chance to do that in front of the biggest audience this sport commands.

I'm not holding back, and you sure as hell aren't going to stop me.