April 21st, 2016 I decided you no longer needed me. My passion for SoCal had reached its experiation point. I decided to walk away thinking I might never post another Jay Cal’s View again. Knowing that I did everything in my power to leave the site in much better condition than I found it. I felt good about my time being the Managing Editor of SoCalUNCENSORED. The sun was setting and it was time to focus on other avenues of my life. But I’ll be honest, I never forgot you. Although I was spending my free time searching for Harambe’s real killers, hunting poachers in the badlands of Uganada, and running for office in Parts Unknown, you were always on my mind. I’m not ready to get back into bed with you SoCal, but maybe we can have coffee and see where things take us.
SMACKDOWN & 205Live
T
he last WWE wrestling event I attended was the 1999 Royal Rumble at the Anaheim Pond. I decided after paying for premium seats and my view being blocked by signs, I gave up on the idea of returning to the WWE live events. I was hooked up by a friend to get really nice seats. If it was a hockey game, I’d be near the glass. The long honor tradition of the battle royal came to Citizens Bank Arena last night on SmackDown. California practically invented the Battle Royal, it was made famous at the Grand Olympic Auditorium where combatants typically would battle over a prize as a cash award or a world title shot. Tonight was no different. Ten men entered the ring. It was fairly typical of a battle royal. The order of elimination wasn’t really surprising. If you’ve been paying attention, you knew that Ambrose and Corbin would find a reason to battle each other. You knew that Crews and Ziggler were going to have beef. But if you pay attention to rumors, you knew that Cena and Miz would have an altercation. Speaking of which, this is the first time I ever saw Cena live, outside of UPW. And this was the first time I’ve seen AJ Styles since PWG at Frank & Sons. The crowd reaction for Styles and Cena were just off the charts. At the end of the Battle Royal, in lieu of a new number one contender to the WWE World Championship, we got a main event to next weeks Smackdown. That was kind of a let down, but the royal itself was a lot of fun. The WWE also crowned a new Smackdown Woman’s Champion, Alexa Bliss defeated Becky Lynch. 205Live was taped immediately following the show. It was really fascinating to see Kendrick in a WWE ring again. I mean, it feels like yesterday when he was the Santino Brothers Champion. Its interesting to note that Austin Aries joined commentary for the show. Chopstix and I discussed that the division is lacking in stars. Perhaps it’s time the WWE adds the likes of Aries and maybe Calisto to help draw in more viewers. Just a thought. As an added attraction, they did film a “RAW” match for the Rock’s latest movie project, which I believe has to do with the Saraya Knight and Paige… I’m sorry I really don’t know more about it. But it sounds exciting. So over all, I had a blast at Smackdown. Special thanks to Adam Pearce for the hook up.
Other thoughts
I obstained from voting this year in the SCU Awards. I found it to be unfair to vote for something that I only admired from a far. But it feels my heart with joy to see that Bateman won Wrestler of the Year. Until recently Bateman held 4 titles. With just cause. Definitely one of the best in our area, if you don’t enjoy Tyler Bateman’s work, you’re wrong. H.A.T.E. was coming on to the scene as I was making my departure. I’m a fan of Ray Rosas, so I knew things would be exciting, but has another stable like that group gotten over as well in so many different promotions? I tend to think not. And when did San Diego finally decide to become the hotbed of Indie wrestling? I’m sure Steve is excited about not having to drive all the way to Los Angeles to check out a show, but it really seems as if San Diego is getting big. I congratulate Jeff Dino for remaining active and growing in those leaner years, but it looks like Southern SoCal is finally becoming the hotbed that it always should have been. And I’d like to extend kudos to PCW, ya’ll proved me wrong. I never said the Sheik was a bad booker, just not my favorite person in the world. Anyway, they’re bringing in Top Tier Talent to SoCal and seem to be growing with every show. I thought for sure they’d been out of business by now. But here they are, still alive and kicking. Did any of you follow David Marquez’s trip to China? Seems like some big things are in store for the United Wrestling Network. Before his trip to China, I noticed that the Great Khali was at one of the studio TV tapings. Along with Billy Corgan and former WWE and TNA writer Dave Lagana. I wonder what’s going all with all of that. And New Japan is coming to SoCal in July? Kind of a big deal.
All in all, I think that it’s a wonderful time to be a fan of professional wrestling. It seems that more so than ever, SoCal has got you covered with several different styles of wrestling. Lucha Libre, the touring Mini show, the family friendly shows, the studio shows, the hottest names on the indies, the superstars of yesteryear, there is just so much good going on. I guess what I’m getting at is go out and support the scene. By slap braclets, t-shirts, DVDs, Streaming Services, but more importantly get out to the shows. These cycles are far and few between and if you don’t support the scene now, it might not be here tomorrow.
I think this was a nice time. I’m glad we swipped right. I respect you too much to go any further, let’s meet up again soon.
Cheap Plugs: For more what’s going on with the United Wrestling Network and the National Westling Alliance please visit www.alliance-wrestling.com
