Moving Forward

Sometimes I try to explain to people how serious wrestling is and how it should be appreciated on a higher level. Whilst they may see it as a simplistic form of pantomime entertainment I prefer to view it as an art form with many intrinsic and complex details that are far too high-brow for the average man. Then I do a wrestling show and the crowd chants ‘sausage sandwich clap clap clapclap clap’. …maybe you have a point…..

This month has seen me compete on two more shows, again for Grapple and All Star. There have also been many other things going on behind the scenes here at JC Thunder headquarters, so without further ado here is a full recap of what has been going down in the world of wristlocks, bodyslams and erm sausage sandwiches.

Wojo

After minimal sleep I get in my car for a nice pleasant 6 hour drive to Fareham on the South Coast of England where I would once again be facing the masked Mexican known as El Ligero at All Star. How did it compare to the previous week?

Well yes the crowd still booed me, yes I still waved around my pirate flag (if only they had any idea about my link to the Caribbean – just another one of those intrinsic and complex details, right?) and yes once again Ligero ran rings around me and finished me off with a hard-hitting top rope splash that made me fart quite abruptly. However, compared to the week before my form was loads better and I actually felt like I should be there. There were still things I need to improve on, but I am definitely moving forward. To put it simply, JC got his wojo* back! Right that’s that done now let’s all drive that 6 hours back to Leeds…

* wojo is ‘wrestling mojo’… and also a word I just made up.

Boogie and the Geek

My second match at Grapple saw Adam Dark and I take on Grapple’s tag team champs Disco Wes (the ‘Boogie’) and JG Nash (the ‘Geek’). We wrestled, we talked, something was said about sausage sandwiches, I shouted ‘I hate sausage sandwiches!’, crowd goes ‘sausage sandwich clap clap clapclap clap’ – professional wrestling at its finest.  

Going into this match I was slightly dubious. I had seen B’n’G do a lot of comedy in their matches but to the point where it was over-done a little bit (in fairness the same could be said for my blog). However, on this night it was done just right and the match was fun and entertaining with some good wrestling to boot.

I did manage to kick Nash in the head really hard, which I felt bad about (ok we’re breaking the fourth wall here, but believe it or not kicking someone too hard makes you a bad wrestler). However, apart from that I was pleased with my performance. The crowd seemed into it, everything ran smoothly and I think the match and all wrestlers involved all looked professional. May the wojo continue…

Some Old Friends

On Friday 7^th March, I will be wrestling at GPW’s event ‘Diamond’s Are Forever’ at The Rose Club, Hindley. I’ll be wrestling ‘Dangerous’ Damon Leigh who, like me, is an old hand at this British wrestling game and started around the same time that I did.

I have a special place in my heart for GPW, as they were one of the first places I started to get noticed. Perhaps rather selfishly I repaid them by getting them temporally banned from putting on wrestling shows at The Rose Club (which was then called the Monaco Ballroom)! Luckily that’s all water under the bridge now and everything is fine (unless this is some sort of trap). This will likely be the first match back that will be filmed, which is great as hopefully I can get some footage to show you all. Better make sure I don’t suck!

Talking of old friends, IPW has made some noise this month or rather one of their fans has. In what is a huge coincidence (I promise it really is) a petition was started by Brad-Adam Nixon to get me re-instated at the company where I got famous by never winning a match and then coming out on top for their championship belt. I have such fond memories of my rambling monologues that endeared me to the fans at IPW and of course the eventual title win. Anyways check out the petition at the link below.

True Grit

One of the big things I have been doing this month is the creation and promotion of True Grit Wrestling, which will be hosting its first show on Thursday, April 17^th at Control nightclub in Leeds. I will not be wrestling on this show and at this time it will be separate to my return to the ring. That said, I am very proud of what we have achieved so far and look forward to it hopefully going from strength to strength.

The show promises to be a good ‘un. It is called ‘War of the Roses’ - all the matches are Yorkshire vs. Lancashire. The venue itself is awesome and I believe we have a great card of wrestling in place for what is likely to be a fantastic evening. A mention must also go to our graphic designer, Dave Lewis, who has designed all the match graphics, logo and the website (see below).

Final Thoughts

So, things are moving forward. I’m now back in with two more wrestling promotions and hope to continue this trend over the next few months. The next step is to obtain some decent footage of myself wrestling on YouTube and start to get my name around a little bit. And talking of social media, I am now finally a member of Twitter (@JCThunder_1) - #followmenow.

Thanks for reading

JCT

JC Thunder petition

http://www.petitions24.com/we_want_thunder

True Grit Wrestling
www.truegritwrestling.com 

The Return

It is Friday evening, January 18^th 2014. I am frantically driving through Leeds in an attempt to reach Intersport. I need to buy some Speedo swimming trunks before the store closes. Within the last half hour I have purchased some baby oil and a roll of black electrical tape. No, this is not the blog of some perverted madman (at least nothing I will admit to on here). No, this is professional wrestling. This is the return of JC Thunder! 

Before we continue, I must stress all items are necessary for my return to wrestling. The swimming trunks are to go under my wrestling tights to avoid what I believe is called a VPL. The electrical tape goes round my wrists to protect them and makes me look more ‘wrestlery’. And if my body were a cake then the gym is my oven, fake tan is my icing and the baby oil is the final decoration. If you’re thinking this all sounds rather body obsessed and quite vain, then you would be right! The look in wrestling is so important and I want to make sure I look the part for my return to the squared circle.

Since my last blog I have competed in not one, but two wrestling shows. The first was my match at Grapple in Leeds and the second was a booking for All Star all the way down in Leamington Spa.

Music Please

I stand behind the curtain eagerly awaiting my return to the ring. My music (AC/DC, Thunderstruck) starts to play… ok I’m sure it’s going to kick in any time now... ok it’s still pretty quiet… damn it I knew this song was a bad choice… right I better go out anyway... ’Yaaaahh JC Thunder!’ I shout, as I grimace up on the stage still secretly annoyed that my music is still quietly building up in the background. I shout some nonsense at the fans and throw a pose, which really should have been saved for the ring apron (you don’t see Triple H do his water spitting pose down on the floor).

Yes, I am back in the ring and I am officially a pro wrestler again! However, the music clearly didn’t work at all and a good entrance is everything. To resolve this I have engaged the services of professional musician and life long wrestling fan, my good friend Daniel Twohig. Please check out the link below and let me know what you think of the re-worked Thunderstruck.

Commence Wrestling

Out comes Micky Mayakiss in his brightly coloured blue and pink attire that makes my black and orange number look quite conservative. He is nicer to the fans and after me being announced from London and him from Leeds the roles have certainly been set. The bell goes and it’s time to wrestle.

The match started by us exchanging wristlocks, headlocks and body checks in an intense contest. I worked over Micky’s leg for most of the bout, to try and neutralise his fearsome roundhouse kick. This ended up resulting in him limping around and me creating an opening for my finishing move - ‘Thunder Crunch’. 1,2 and 3!  Welcome back JC Thunder!

Overall the match was intense and hard hitting, but a few bits could have been smoother. There was one part at the beginning of the match that looked especially sloppy. Also, we went over time and had to cut the finish - an issue I will need to be more aware of. That said, given it was my first match back and Micky is still new to the game I am fairly pleased with what we did. Assuming he keeps up with it, I have no doubt that Micky will turn into a fine young wrestler. Good job kid! (I’m 30 and have a beard, so I assume I’m allowed to say stuff like that now.)

Big Leagues

All Star is one of Europe’s most respected and long established wrestling organisations. ITV stars such as Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki were all regularly seen under the All Star banner, along with plenty of WWE stars; William Regal, Wade Barrett, Sheamus and even current wrestling sensation Daniel Bryan have had their time honing their craft with the company. Now, thanks to my old connections and my willingness to take bookings at short notice, it’s my time to shine baby!

I entered the stage to a hot crowd that was easy to wind up as I waved around a red flag which had some sort of black skull and cross bones on it and I made sure that I posed on the apron this time. My opponent entered and the crowd erupted as he slapped their hands and got them all fired up for some wrestling action. The bell rang and there I was, staring into the eyes of my old running buddy - the masked Mexican, El Ligero!

Ligero was on top form and the crowd was into the match. However, due to arriving at the venue late, I was feeling rushed and massively out of my comfort zone. As a result I was a bit lost and my offence looked weak in parts. I have spent the last two months really upping my intensity and I don't think I did myself justice at all here. That said, my crowd interaction was good and my movement was generally fluid and crisp. This is only my second match back and it is going to take time to get my in-ring confidence back up.

Let’s get ready to rumble

To finish off the All Star show all the wrestlers participated in a rumble match, much like WWE’s Royal Rumble that has just taken place. The match started off with me teaming with former nemesis and the man I beat for the IPW championship, Andy Boy Simmonz. We put our differences aside as we beat down on plucky good guy Joseph Conners. More wrestlers entered and soon the ring was full of lycra clad stars. I was eventually eliminated (again by that pesky little Mexican!) and as I threw a temper tantrum by the ring the crowd roared with glee at my disgruntlement.

One fan in particular was especially happy to see me go. I had been mouthing off to the said fan in my match earlier in the evening and now he was taking this opportunity to shout right back at me - it got quite heated, he stood up and was looking very much like he wanted to fight me. Hmmm, what the hell happens here if he starts throwing punches I wondered? On one hand, as a wrestler I don’t want to be backing down from a fan, but on the other it probably isn’t advisable to start beating on customers my first night on the job – a bad move in any profession! Luckily the referee was in between us and all that happened was we shouted for a bit and I soon went back to complaining about my loss and wondering where I’d put that flag of mine.

Final Thoughts

So, I am now officially a professional wrestler again, in so much as I get paid to wrestle! I am genuinely happy to see my last few months of hard work starting to pay off. However, in both matches I didn’t feel entirely comfortable and hope that this is just down to what we call in the industry ‘ring rust’.

All Star have asked me back. This Saturday I will be wrestling all the way down in Fareham, South Hampshire for them, where I will be looking to improve on the things I didn’t feel went so well last time and continue doing the things that were good. They supply the majority of bookings in the UK and it would be great to get on board with them regularly. Also, I very much enjoyed the Grapple show I did and will be looking to make an impact again on their next show coming up on February 16^th at Boston Spa Village Hall in Leeds. Full report on both encounters next time!

Thanks for reading!
JCT

JC Thunder's Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8TtykDUuk8