Anarchy roster

[jeff]

I was just wondering what everyone thought about the roster right now. With a mix of veterens and some new unproven talent how would you rate it. You have the guys that have been around awhile and are over and still improving and good leaders like Chad, Jeff Lewis, Todd and many others and then you have guys like Truitt and Shatter, Walters and Driver and Sex and Money who have yet to really go the distance. Do you think the roster has promise?

[Rudd]

I think the roster is in pretty good shape right now. They could use a couple more real tag teams. Like guys that dress alike and have a name for there team. I think the singles division is in great shape and there will be lots of fresh match ups coming out of hostile enviornment.

[meanmug]

In all honesty, I do not believe that Todd Sexton is a good "leader" and most definitely is not "continually improving." In fact, when I watch Todd wrestle, all I see is a cheap imitation of some of the guys (not naming names, but anyone with a brain knows who I mean) up in the "big leagues", going as far as copying moves and even their wrestling gear! Where is the creativity? I understand that almost everything has been done by someone, somewhere, but is it necessary to copy every little thing they do, including well known finishers that people automatically associate with someone else? I dont think that Todd has improved (much) since his original TNT days. I could point out plenty of reasons I believe he wrestles as if he was still fresh on the scene with very little seasoning, but I'm afraid it would take up too much of my (and your, since youre reading this) time.


But, enough about Todd. While Chad is definitely a great wrestler, I feel he is starting to slip, not because he's losing any of his skill, because even his worst match in the past year is better than most people's best match of this past year, but that he is slipping in that he is getting comfortable. The same crowd every show makes it easy to know what those particular fans want, and how to give it to them. I think this tournament and Chad having to leave the comfort of Cornelia will seriously help him in the long run. Chad has immense talent and has a good chance of going somewhere and making something big out of himself, if he would just step up and grab the opportunities waiting for him.

Jeff Lewis, however, fits your description of the guys that've been around awhile. Jeff continues to just.. get it. His character is slowly starting to develop into something seriously solid. The recent addition of the cigar is an excellent touch that just gives it that extra little something. His wrestling, while already is really good shape, seems to only be getting better. His time being managed by managing great Jeff G has been a very apparent factor in improving his skill. This is also another wrestler I feel has great potential to be somebody.


As far as the newer wrestlers with less mileage, Truitt and Shatter, while no longer a tag team, were excellent together. Truitt's strong yet agile style mixed with Shatters strong and powerful style made for a force that, had they stayed together, could have become unstoppable. However, since their parting of ways, I still feel that both are strong players in the game and have no plans to sit any innings out. Again, Shatter has joined the Elite, which allows for Jeff G and Jeff Lewis to hone and shape Shatter into the monster of a wrestler that he can be. This former Marine knows what it takes to get the job done, and the Elite seems to be a perfectly fitting place for him to be. Shatter will go places.

Truitt, while smaller in size, will be able to hold his own in singles competition as well. Truitt seems to be finding his place among the middle weight to lower heavyweight wrestlers already established in Anarchy. I could see Truitt going on to win some belts, such as the TV Title, and hey, maybe one day the Heavyweight title. Truitt is in great physical shape and seems to have a good, firm grasp on wrestling. Also a former Marine, Truitt has was it takes as well as the focus and discipline needed to get him where he wants to go.

Recently in Anarchy, there has been a rather large influx of low card wrestlers hoping to get a permanent spot. Among these are Walters/Driver and S&M (Konley/Pendleton). Walters and Driver seem to definitely hold a great passion for wrestling and a strong drive to grab a spot and claim it as their own. Their talent, while still in the developmental stage, seems to grow with every match they participate in. I think a good move would be for them to come up with a tag team name, something catchy and memorable. If i remember correctly, they have already started wearing matching tights. Caleb Konley is still pretty fresh on the scene, but he has some talent. With the right match up, we might could see his inner talent unleashed, but only time will tell. Pendleton seems to be the weaker of the two, even just by looking at them. His gear is a liiiittle less professional (hard to believe someone is loaded when their gear looks dirty all the time) than Caleb's mock cK tighty whities. Sex and Money, while a good temporary name, probably wouldnt work if they wanted to be any bigger than upper-low card. Sure its "risque" but, S&M just doesnt... click. It just seems a little too "sideshow" for me.



All in all, the Anarchy roster is fairly strong. Sure there are some weak points in there, but none of the weak spots seem to be staying weak. Everyone of these younger, greener guys seems too be learning and growing with every show. The strong points on the roster are holding strong for the most part, and holding the show together. The roster is the strongest in the south, and probably one of the strongest in the whole indy scene.

[cashflowx]

There is also a crop of wrestlers in the Carolinas (especially North Carolina) and some in Virginia that would love to work for Anarchy, many of who are great workers and personalities. Is is quite a distance to drive, but some are willing to do so in order to gain television experience. What sets Anarchy apart from other promotions is that it provdies an opportunity for its workers to wrestle TV style matches, develop a character and wrestle against good talent.

I've noticed a diffrence in Chad Parham in 2007 than the one I saw in late 2005 & 2006. It's time for Chad to start branching out and wrestling outside talent. Damien Wayne was a great start for Chad because I saw the fire in his eyes that the NWA Arena was his house and no outsider was going to take that away from him. We'd love to have him up in here in Virginia and Carolina against Sean Denny, Preston Quinn, Rex Sterling, Brandon Day, Q-Sic, Mike Booth, Scotty Blaze, Pharaoh or a rematch with DW. A tour of Japan would make Chad that much better. Chad has IT and I can see great things in his future if he starts to branch out.

The young crop of wrestlers heading up like Ace Rockwell (he has pleasantly suprised me with his ring work), Austin Creed and Truitt & Shatter are a big hit with the fans.

I've also noticed that the Anarchy roster is a transititional stage because I've noticed quite a few new faces within the last few months. Anarchy is in good shape, so it's no need to worry.

[middlega]

Overall, I'd say there's as least as much talent here as you'll find at any similar sized promotion in the country, and more than at least 90% of them.

The thing that strikes me most about the roster (and has already been mentioned a bit in the thread) is the amount of balance in terms of experience. That's something that really sets Anarchy apart from a lot of other promotions IMO, but it works very well for them as it helps keep things flowing. Watching the growth of Brandon Phoenix from the time he's spent working with Brodie Chase has been one of the most fun things I've seen in wrestling in quite a while.

Whether anybody is noticing it, Jeremy Vain is growing into a first-rate heel. At this point, I've got him mentally pegged as a guy who might someday way down the road become a Chase -- someone who can teach character nuances to younger talent. His mannerisms, his expressions are cut right out of some classic molds and he's become a regular highlight for me.

Konley has a lot of potential in my mind, but I look at him and see pure heel. Snotty, arrogant, condescending, want-to-slap-the-taste-out-of-his-mouth heel. And I mean that as purely as a compliment.

The other thing that seems like an Anarchy strength that's at least partially attributable to the roster is how much character/storyline development has been done. Look at the card for tomorrow night, there's really not a match on it that seems just thrown together to fill space/time. There's some story element to everything - from the next installment of the Elite/Rejects war to the development of The Anger Alliance - meaning there's actually some reason behind the matches but without a single case where the story is the only thing behind the matches. Granted, that's more a function of booking but you also have to have a roster with people who can execute when given the story, whatever it might be. I don't get any feeling that the booking team ever feels limited by what they have to work with ... and that's really a remarkable feat in this day & age IMO, just look at promotions from largest to smallest and see how often it really happens and has been as coherent as this lineup.

Of course, every roster could always use some tweaking here & there and Anarchy is no exception. I'd like to see another face tag team in the mix, preferably a fresh one I think. I'd like to see the addition of 2-3 X-Division styled guys or a genuine flyer or two (at least one with some lucha influence), but those are really as much (or more) a matter of personal taste as they are of actual need.