maffewgregg

[maffewgregg]

Typing about Wrestling With Pixels

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/654436224/wrestling-with-pixels-the-world-tour-of-wrestling/posts/1628670 (i typed this up on FB but this is for the benefit of those w/o FB.) Time for a long-winded post about Wrestling With Pixels, sadly necessary because they speak as often as mimes and some people still think I'm involved with them.

So a few years ago (2013) a good friend of mine called Audun asked if I wanted to be part of this book he was doing on wrestling video games. The way he described it I'd be travelling around asking wrestlers about their favourite video games and it sounded like a bag of laughs so I said yes. I Tweeted and posted on FB about it with the necessary hype and this helped them completely overshoot their expected Kickstarter goal which they were going to use to make the book better. I think Giant Bomb and other gaming sites hyped it, everything looked good and I waited to be told what to do from The Boss.

Except not much happened and not much was said after that. Despite calling the people behind the book 'Botched Productions' with a logo and everything, Audun and a team I was never introduced to or given the details for spent the next few months ignoring me. I got annoyed and was eventually told everything's OK, it's just taking time how dare you ask I'm your friend I'm just busy busy busy etc. and I believed it and typed up something about Pro Wrestling NES and Tecmo Wrestling for them.

More time passes and I'm twiddling my thumbs like Homer Simpson on the roof and the WWP page posts less and less. This is weird as Audun was one of the people that taught me how important staying on top of social media was when I first started doing this. So it's weird that the guy who told me it was important is now posting nothing. Where's the photos with AJ Styles, Mike Quackenbush and all those other names that were listed when this project was announced, playing No Mercy and being happy? Where's the contributions from Two Best Friends Play and Joe Gagne? The list of photos reveals two promo images on the FB. I know if I'd interviewed the then-NJPW champ I'd have posted about a dozen photos of it so the world knew I'd done it.

It's a weird thing when a trusted friend fucks you over. When a deadline gets missed you don't think much of it because they've been good in the past. Second deadline, eh no-one's perfect. By the time the fifth one's passed you begin to suspect. I wouldn't care but I gave my word and told people THIS'LL BE GREAT, AUDUN'S WORKED FOR DESTRUCTOID, HE CAN BE TRUSTED. And because I post on FB and Twitter and they've gone quiet, people message me to ask WHERE'S THE BOOK YOU THIEVING CUNT and who can blame them? I'd tweet everyone I knew if I'd spent money on an invisible book. I send those people Audun's way.

And then I happen to be at the Superbyte Festival in Manchester enjoying chip-tune music when a mutual friend tells me Audun's in Manchester. A guy who lives in Norway has travelled to the North of England where he knows I live and didn't contact me beforehand? Well now that's a bit odd. A quick message and he replies saying yes he's here but too busy to say hello. What's he doing, signing peace treaties?

And even then, I resisted posting stuff because of my previous friendship. Maybe my poor friend was attacked by Samoa Joe when he said Fire Pro was over-rated and he's recovering. But then all sympathy disappeared today when they posted an update on the Kickstarter page. You'd think this be a positive thing considering they're about as common as unicorn shit, and they're offering the chance for refunds to people who ask for them. What's wrong with that you ask? Well a Botchamania fan messaged me telling me after asking the WWP page about the refund, they were directed to here. Maybe they meant the Botched Productions page (which doesn't exist) or maybe Audun or mini-Audun or whoever the fuck is running that page is telling people they should come to me for refunds.

Maybe they don't mean that and I'm over-reacting but just in case there's any doubt I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PROJECT. I haven't seen or had access to any money or interviews with wrestlers or any fucking thing since this started three years ago and I'm sure as hell not going to start refunding people. I'm lucky enough to make enough money off of Patreon without feeling the need to fuck over 542 people for $26,278 so let's nip that on the bud straight away. I refunded a guy at MAGFest earlier this year because I felt guilty but enough stockholm syndrome shit, I'm not going to feel bad when the people you want to speak to are very contactable via Kickstarter, Twitter, FaceBook.

I'm not telling you to get a refund, maybe it'll come out and it'll be the greatest book since A Tale Of Two Cities. All I can tell you is that I'm very very sorry for hyping this project that's been in development longer than Mighty No. 9 but I'm not the person to speak to about this.

tl;dr i have no idea if WWP has produced anything in three years and now they're maybe telling people to come see me for refunds. get to fuck.

[maffewgregg]

It was alright, I guess.

[maffewgregg]

The Japanese home video version of WCW Collision In Korea opens with  Muhammad Ali doing magic tricks in an airport for the wrestlers. Everyone smiles awkwardly, Flair looks around nervously.

[maffewgregg]

Road Warrior Hawk at Collision In Korea from 1995.

Despite it being a WCW/NJPW event, he's wearing a WWF shirt.

[maffewgregg]

Goddamit maffew. I just had scoliosis surgery this past thursday and I've been in a crapload of pain for a while. But today I laughed my ass off with the Botchamania 255 Japanese Table segment.even though I have pins and stitches in my back. Never stop making these videos.

Aw thanks man! Sincerely, messages like this keep me pumping these out. Hope they get those pins out of you and IRS doesn't stick fridge magnets onto you like he did Brutus Beefcake.

[maffewgregg]

Dude, remember Babu? Turns out he's my wrestling teacher. And he's awesome. And not from India.

Ha! I didn’t even know he wrestled! Thanks for the message!

[maffewgregg]

Happy Veteran’s Day.

[maffewgregg]

The Botchamania Drinking Game

[maffewgregg]

The man that managed Ultimo Dragon to 120 titles.

[maffewgregg]

It looks like he's stopped doing it, so due to popular demand: The Cena Springboard Stunner compilation.

HE DIDN'T GET ALL OF IT

[maffewgregg]

The joys of old school tape trading:

Watching Dick Slater & Mike Enos and thinking ''Christ, The Hollywood Blonds look rough.''

[maffewgregg]

Violent Storm Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Platform: Arcade Year: 1993

[maffewgregg]

Bad News Blackadder II (thanks to Jack Willoughby for the idea)

[maffewgregg]

Oh feck.

[maffewgregg]

Botchamania 267!

[maffewgregg]

I love my fans.

In Maffew We Trust!

[maffewgregg]

“If you’re a wrestling fan and you haven’t watched Botchamania, you need to. It’s so funny.”