Cameron Burks..one of the best fans a fed can have. Why? he gives honest feedback.he cares.he works for a living,he does stuff with his family. he handles his business. You know what i consider an honor? I have a code I have lived by,in wrestling..its The Rule of a ticket..if the average guy,makes $9 an hour..and he came to a FTW show..brought himself..his 2 kids..and his wife..and drove 50 miles to a show..thats..lest say 410 for gas..if the kids are teenagers..thats $32 at the door..if he buys all of them a hotodg and a coke..lets say thats $12. thats $54.If he makes $9 an hour,for an 8 hour day..he basically just gave you,a wrestlingpromoter/booker,performer..a day of his sweat.You owe that man a day of yours. for all the bullshit,I lived thru,put up with,and monetarily paid for..I am truely grateful to anyone who bought a nticket..and as a booker.. you wonder at times,if your message is getting thru..if they consider little things..attention to detail..you wonder if they even care,,that your worst fears..that they only paid to see moves,have been realized.I can tell you..after reading camerons answers..my heart was full.I did my job. A few of you,understood and appreciated it. I am in your debt. I am a fan of Cameron Burks,his wife Michele,and how they go about their lives..always attempting the good word,and the good deed. Anyone who ever worked for FTW..show gratitude.Dyron Flynn..you especially should thank them at every opportunity. Gives me pleasure,to allow you,the readers,to give Cameron a voice,,the most important voice we could hear..a fans..enjot. 1. How long have u been a fan? earliest memory of watching wrestling? Ive been a fan since the mid 80s. I was around 6 years old, Grandad watched Saturday morning from the Nashville Fairgrounds. It was be quiet and watch or go outside. 2. Did u go to any shows Growing up?If so,your age,and what u remember of it. My first live show was at Jakes Auction House, early 2000s. I remember a lot of hokey gear, jeans, doctors scrubs And this one fan dog-cussing a wrestler while holding an infant. Just didnt peak my interest at the time. 3.How did u become aware of the local indy scene? My ex-wifes cousin was taking my kids with her to FTW in McMinnville. Ex was supposed to be taking them, but was dropping them off. When all that came to light, she stopped taking them. Kids wanted to go, so I took them myself. 4. Did you see it as a step down from what you saw on tv? Honestly, I was expecting the hokey stuff Id seen before. But, minus the big production of tv, these guys were telling a story just like on television. 5.When you got to an indy show..does storyline/angles matter to you? I think the storylines keep the regulars coming back, or convince people to become regulars. But personally, if two wrestlers can convince me to love them or hate them in a single match, theyve done their job that night. 6.Do you think the average indy fan eventually loses interest in the show itself,and it becomes just their social circle? I dont think of myself as an average Indy fan. But Ive been to shows where a group is more interested in what they can do or say, than whats going on during the show. 7. What bothers you about indy shows? My pet peeve at Indy shows are wrestlers or owners kids, or unattended kids in general. I spent my time and money to see this show. These guys are putting their bodies on the line to entertain me. Nobodys here to hear you blow your whistle or play basketball or tag. Show some respect to everyone here. 8.What indy shows have stood out to you as good,and why? FTW has always been my favorite. Everything there seemed like it was done for a reason. The entrance music meant something. What the ring announcers said meant something. Every match seemed to build toward something. Never had that feeling that these two guys are who showed up, so theyre wrestling each other. Really like Empire Pro right now. They have an excellent production value, nice facility, backstage vignettes on the jumbotron. Theyre too far away for us to attend regularly, so I dont think its fair to comment on their storylines. I get the gist of it, but am lost as to why whos mad at who. They have a roster full of guys who look like wrestlers. 9.When you go to these shows,do you buy merchandise,like t shirts,pictures? If the wrestlers are taking the time to sign autographs, Ill buy the kids some pictures to be signed. Ive bought tshirts at Empire, wanted an FTW shirt. I bought everyone on the family Pride Pro shirts trying to help get the word out when they were starting up, but they went a different direction than what we were interested in driving over an hour to see. 10. Whats the one thing that can turn you off enough not to return? Unattended children, especially when everyone from security to the ticket lady sees it going on, knows the kid, and does nothing about it. Untrained wrestlers is a close second, though. 11. Funniest thing youve ever seen at an indy show? Planned: the FTW Halloween Character Battle Royal. Jeremy Flynt as Steve Austin chucking rootbeer everywhere, stunning everyone. Maybe it was planned: Dyron Flynn and Nick Iggy fighting through the concession stand at NWA: Main Event Unplanned: At this show in Evansville, IN, first match, heel in ring, face coming out to intro, shaking hands with crowd, goes to hug this woman, heel jumps out and hits him from behind, this woman goes sprawling out. Same woman, later, a wrestler get hit with a chair during a promo in the ring. She goes over and is yelling at him from the side. She comes back crying. Asked whats wrong. She says, he told me to sit my fat a** down. I told him, Im your da** momma, you dont talk to me like that!. 12. Favorite Indy wrestler? Has to be Dyron Flynn. First saw him at FTW. Kind of has a similar sense of humor as mine. Always amused by how he jaws back an forth with the crowd, other wrestlers. Has always been able to carry his own in a match, but I like knowing and seeing how much hes advanced just by keeping up with him when we can. Chris Norte and Jeremy Flynt round out my top 3. Norte always got it, like he always made you feel what he wanted you to feel. Flynt was money, if he is on the card youre going to be entertained. 13. favorite storyline/angle from Indy shows youve attended? The one I never got to see. At FTW in Cookeville, ELE (Promo and Frost) and the Drink Destroyers (Norte and Flynn), two heel tag teams fighting for whos the baddest. From refusing to be introduced first, to the matches, they just hated each other. The last night (so far, I hope) of FTW, ELE goes rogue, dont even think the match finished or even disqualified. Theyve got Dyron strapped out like a sacrafice, running around the arena like they took the Alamo single handed. And Norte pours his soul out on the mic. Its was the biggest face turn Ive ever seen in person. And I still to this day wish wed have gotten to see that play out fully. 14. Are most shows worth what you pay for them? The shows admission is almost always worth it. You cant be entertained for 2-3 hours for $5-$8 anywhere else. Its the other costs that affect our decision. We like Empire, about 1 1/2 hours away. So just gas is around $40. Feed 5 people, $60. Admission, $37. A trip to the concession stand and were over $150 for the night. And I wouldnt drive 20 minutes to the local show on free night, but thats personal preference. 15.Its common knowledge that since the decline of FTW,you have taken your love of it on the road,and followed the careers of guys like Dyron Flynn even across satet borders..are these guys put in as good, or better light than they were in FTW? I dont think so. In Dyrons case, with his ability to carry a match with technique and physical stamina, in other places that seems used/abused to make other wrestlers/tag teams look good. Dyron threw these guys around for 30 minutes just for the hefty guy to come in for the pin. In Evansville, Shane Smalls was used as a generic undercard guy. His ability was still there, but under utilized. Where at FTW, he was a main tier guy. Norte was a first couple of match guy at Main Event. And was a great heel champ at FTW. Chisjen Hayme is the only wrestler Ive seen at another promotion that had a higher status. He was the main event at Empire our first night there. Injured, he fought the entire match on one leg. At FTW, I remember him wrestling, I remember him being good then. He just didnt connect with a crowd that wasnt into technical ability that night. 16.Do you think some bookers look down on the intelligence of their fans? Yes. After attending Main Event a few times, I kept up with their card to see if I wanted to go back. For 5 weeks straight it was Seven vs Psycho Medic for the title. Ive seen both men wrestle, nothing against either, but no way could that have been a captive audience, intellectually anyway. And some bookers look too much to the fans for ideas. Nobody is afraid of you or your kendo stick, so quit booking yourself to win. 17.Do you enjoy womens wrestling? would you pay to see a whole show of it? Ive got nothing against womens wrestling. If theyre selling and telling their story, its wrestling. I wouldnt go to a show based on the fact that its women. But if the buzz that its a good show, Id go. On a side note, Id like to see the WWE split their Divas roster into a Womens Division and a Divas Division. That way if you want to see wrestling, watch the womens match. If you want to see bikini mud wrestling, watch the divas match. Both have their place, but not together, believably. 18. Do you enjoy the ultraviolent death matches? Nope. Blood isnt my thing at all. And I dont watch wrestling to see people hurt. 19.Longest trip to see a show? And why? NFW, Evansville, Indiana. Didnt have anything planned, feeling spontaneous. Card had Dyron Flynn, Chris Norte, Shane Smalls, and a few former big names. And its the corporate headquarters of my employer. Never been, so we headed out. 4 hour drive, and lost an hour with time change 20. Does the whole family enjoy it? can this be done as a family outing,as to where everyone can enjoy it equally,but from different perspectives? Get teenagers, two red-heads, and a dad with road rage, and anybody can be determined not to like something. But we all enjoy it to different extents. I like to figure out storylines and the endings. The girls like to yell. We like to heckle and people watch. One just likes the act of going somewhere and doing something. Whether its the charismatic, the high flyer, the monster, or just the old school wrestler, were all entertained. So, keep up the good work guys and gals, we appreciate all you give us, and hope to see you soon.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:08:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015