Kayfabe Monday: August 23rd Edition

Last week, I wrote about the demise of professional wrestling known as the SMART MARK. Do not get me wrong, I love the banter and conversations I have between fellow wrestling fans, but when you try to prove that you know more and are better than an actual wrestler, that is where I draw the line.

Another line that I think a lot of people should not cross is the wrestling writing/interview/journalist line. Case in point, watch this video courtesy of NoDQ.com:



This video was taped last Friday August 20th in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. This guy asks the stupidest questions, tries to goat Tommy Dreamer into an argument while he is trying to earn some money for himself and a great cause, brings up events that did not affect Tommy Dreamer at all, takes time away from Tommy trying to meet fans, did not do any research in any of his questions, and really tries Tommys patience but he remains professional throughout the whole thing, which I have the utmost respect for.

Do not get me wrong, I love YouTube. I love that I can take a video, edit it, and share it with my friends and the world around me. But, if you want to appear as a genuine wrestling reporter and not just another annoying smart mark fan, there should be some rules established for interviews with wrestlers.

1)Do not do it while the wrestler is trying to make money, either for himself or for a charity. You will not get an answer that you are trying to get, plus the wrestlers mind is not focused on the interview; he or she is focused on making money. Try and get in touch with the wrestler before the show, introduce yourself and ask if it could be possible for an interview either before the show or after the show. A lot of wrestlers use Facebook/Twitter and are very accomodating as long as you appear professional.

2)Do your research. A lot of wrestlers do not like to talk about events/people that they might not have dealt with or have dealt with and there is bad blood for example Mick Foley and Ric Flair.

3)After you ask the question, let the wrestler ANSWER! Do not jump from one thing to another. If you have to make a comment, wait until the wrestler is done speaking and then comment. It is just common courtesy between two people having a conversation.

Take a look at this video. This is how a wrestling interview SHOULD be done:

Thank you to Canadian Mike from the Fox Sports Network for this video.

I do not mean to sound like a know it all, but for a person who has had a wrestling column in her college newspaper to taking photographs ringside for various wrestling promotions to now writing this blog, I might know a thing or two. A lot of fans should stay just that--FANS. There are a lot of copy and paste dirt sheet writers out there, as we learn from Eric Bischoff if you read his Twitter or Facebook page. The wrestling community does not need any more copy and paste writers and needs more fans who just love to cheer and boo.

As always, I believe in Kayfabe,
JoiseyDani