Platinum's Full Diclosure: Part 3

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed below are solely those of the credited independent contributor, and do not necessarily refle...

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed below are solely those of the credited independent contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com or any of its entities.

From Stephen Platinum:

They Are the Center(s) of Controversy People secretly and not-so-secretly hate and have hated them both. SNL not only has put up with “Saturday Night Dead” declarations for almost three decades, they have weathered hosts and musical guests “going into business for themselves,” famously bad lip-sync performances that became headline news (where the fuck is Ashlee Simpson?), political figures being outraged, questions of bad taste, going too far, people denying SNL’s influence, deaths of performers, etc. And people who reveled in any real or perceived drop in SNL’s popularity or success level. Anarchy, similarly, has weathered people wishing for its demise, people who start wrestling groups in the hopes of toppling them, others wrestlers and wrestling people voting against obviously deserving Anarchy candidates for year-end awards simply out of spite, or a sense of “we’re as good as those guys” or whatever the reason is that the weaker lash out against the stronger.

Part of being the measuring stick is that people want to tear you down in order to feel as if they are rising up. It’s the nature of any industry, especially the entertainment business.

Their History and Perception of it Are in Dispute Full Disclosure: Cheap Plug – tonight on this podcast show “Perception is Reality” a host of Anarchy/NCW/Anarchy alumni are going to talk about this very Full Disclosure series and their experiences with the group and the things I’ve talked about http://www.blogtalkradio.com/psp/2013/11/21/perception-is-reality#.UosC7oqQW2g.facebook in this three part series. You have people from Rick Michaels, to Todd Sexton, to Bill Behrens, Reverend Dan to Jeff G. Bailey. Larry Goodman who covered most of the big moments will be there also. I don’t imagine I’ll get to say much. I’m sure Trent will managed to say his share, unfortunately (I keed, I keed). One thing will be a certainty – remember who did what, who saw the potential in this wrestler or that, and who thought of this idea or the other great one will be in dispute. Anarchy and all its incarnations are greatness in motion, and everyone puts themselves in relation to that greatness differently. Just as people remember liking a great band before anyone else…just like people involved in any collaborative project that is the best want to have their piece (and credit for that piece) of greatness…so it goes with SNL (the contradictions in different aspects of the SNL story are as fascinating as having great moments and performers talked about) and Anarchy. In this series of Full Disclosures about Anarchy and SNL I have gotten numerous messages disputing everything from who was an integral part of Anarchy/Wildside/NCW during different time periods, to making sure I credit this person or that one to disputing the television station list, to disputing that Anarchy is the top promotion in the area for any number of reasons.

To me, that’s further proof of the superiority of Anarchy. It’s bigger (and has been for over a decade) than any individual personality involved. For perspective – many know who the promoters (take Ron Gossett, the promoter) are and a general thing about them (he runs that league that’s trying to be like WCW). But chances are unless you worked for them, you can’t tell me the name of the promotion off the top of your head. Ron Gossett and all his bullshit come to the front of your mind whenever we talk about him. With people intricately involved in Anarchy, you hear the personalities and you attach them to the promotion, and start thinking about what they did in those promotions. If you hear AJ Styles, you can put him in context of Wildside. If you hear Iceberg, or Jeff G. Bailey, it may invoke those crazy promos they did back in the day. You hear Devil’s Rejects, or NWA Elite, or any other of the myriad of angles, wrestlers, factions and legendary shows and matches, and it’s put under the umbrella of the Anarchy legacy. And then the stories and discussions and thoughts get seen through your own individual lens – you hate them, or you secretly want them to fail, or “it wasn’t as good as people think,” or so-and-so was overrated, or it was the greatest show/match/underrated worker ever, etc. That clouded and personal take on the history is all a part of Anarchy (and SNL) transcending simply being another fly by night group. 

In conclusion, Immortality Here’s the long and short of it. Lots of shows, especially comedy shows have come and gone since SNL premiered. Even the ones that have had long tenures and wide influence (say, The Simpsons) have ties to SNL. In short, SNL has attained television greatness and immortality. 

Anarchy has done the same thing in Georgia wrestling. The landscape of wrestling has certainly changed since 1999. But the constant is the wrestling show that takes place in the Church of Southern Wrestling. It’s why men like Jerry Palmer and Franklin Dove kept them going. It’s why that crew works for much less than they get elsewhere. It’s why Anarchy inspires equal parts admiration and envy. Because Anarchy is the grown up once-child, raised by many that has attained immortality.

If parents are being honest, they have kids because they want a sense of immortality. You have the kid, you help raise the kid, and that kid insures that what you think and what you love continues in some form. SNL has grown and had countless kids of their own. And those kids have more kids and start their own families. And Anarchy/NCW/Wildside is grown up now. And through countless reinventions, roster turnovers, people getting mad and leaving then coming back, “final shows,” battles with other promotions, high and low periods, and great show after great show – great match after great match – and the abortion matches. And the angles that worked. And the ones that didn’t. And the wrestlers that fought in the back with the same perceived passion that they worked in the ring. And the shows that aired. And the moments that only those that witnessed them live would truly appreciate. And the stories in the ring and backstage. And the rats that blew the guys under the building. And the fights at ringside and in the office. And the literal blood, sweat and tears shed. They all took the dust from the earth and made an immortal thing called, currently, Anarchy wrestling.

People can hate it. They can dispute parts of it. They can say that Anarchy is dying. Or dead. Or back better than ever. In the end, they remain. And even if that building were to be empty forever tomorrow, the ghosts would remain. The footage would exist. The memories would be honored. And the kids of Anarchy would remain, spread out, and carry the legacy with them and plant the seeds anew everywhere they went. They are in that building. They live in the airwaves around the country. They are all over the internet. They work in TNA, and they’ve made their way to the WWE.

They are Anarchy. And just like Saturday Night Live has become synonymous with the night they have conquered and literally taken in with their very name, so has Anarchy marched to the front of the parade of Georgia wrestling, with everyone else in their wake. It’s not a small thing. It is important, in our world. And while success in wrestling is certainly possible without ever working there, working there is one of the few ways to touch greatness. That’s the way it is. And I, for one, will not take that for granted.

Thanks for reading – next time, a look at who the top candidates are for the year end awards, and no doubt I will continue putting panties into bunches. Yes, for those that tell me, I am aware that people dispute what I say. I know now after looking at Anarchy and SNL that the price of striving for greatness are inferiors that must be content with basking in reflected light.