Tim Kail's Wrestling Journal, 3/13/25
Roman Reigns spears CM Punk
PART 1
I'm bursting with excitement. As I write this, tomorrow I'll be a guest on NPR affiliate CT Public radio's The Colin McEnroe show. I'm nervous, psyching myself up to make the most of this opportunity. I had a pre-interview call on Tuesday to prepare me for the interview. I love talking about wrestling as an art particularly with people who don't know much about wrestling but are curious.
This interview has activated my imagination.
Maybe if I do well I'll get some new listeners and readers.
Maybe if I do really well NPR will offer me a job.
Yes, I'm getting ahead of myself. But let me have my fantasies. During my pre-interview call, describing wrestling as an art and how it has more in common with Shakespeare than Football, I couldn't help but feel I was doing exactly what I'm meant to do in life. I had a similar feeling when I talked about my short film at the Urban Dreams film festival in Manhattan last year. I'm meant to be an artist and I'm meant to talk about art. If I could somehow segue that into a career that pays the bills and gives me healthcare, I think I'd be happy.
I asked the producer, "How did you find me?" Apparently an intern did a Google search and my name popped up. That just goes to show you that you never know who's watching, reading, or listening. You never know when opportunity might strike so it's always important to put your best work forward and hope it gets noticed. It makes me proud of this website and the podcast. I've created something that I'm not embarrassed about, which is more than I can say for most of my writing from my teens and twenties. Pro-wrestling has given me a focus. It's made me think in new ways about art and the role it plays in our lives. It's been there for me when times were tough, providing an escape. I've gained a deeper appreciation for the work of the wrestler, how they break their bodies in an effort to move us to "The Moment of Pop" or catharsis.
PART 2
It is now March 13th, 2025 and I'm almost a week removed from being a guest on Colin's show. It went well. I was able to answer all of his questions and even add a little something extra to some of them. I had no idea what the questions would actually be and some of them caught me a little off guard. The response from family, friends, and listeners has been great. I haven't noticed an increase in listenership or readership but you never know, one or two people may be reading this right now as a result of my appearance on Colin's show. Either way it's certainly worth it.
Raw was pretty terrible this week. I'll save my thoughts for the Raw Review set to publish at midnight tonight. My main point is that WWE's midcard is in a dismal state, and can't effectively help main event stars "get over". I continue to enjoy Jey and Gunther's interactions. It's a good, simple story of a bully destined to get his comeuppance. Jey must win at WrestleMania. I'll be stunned, in a bad way, if he doesn't.
My love affair with AEW continues to fade, I'm sad to say. They have the opposite problem of WWE - a vibrant, likable midcard and a dull main event scene. I didn't even remember Dynamite was on at 8:00 until my wife asked me if I would watch it. I opted, instead, to watch The Real Housewives of Atlanta with her, and I don't regret the decision at all. I'm not sure what can bring me back. I'll watch anything that involves Orange Cassidy, Adam Page, and Timeless Toni Storm, but that's about it. I didn't watch their recent pay-per-view because I need to save money for a camera (to give you an indication into how unenthused I am about the product).
I'm sad to see where Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho are. There was a time when both were involved in some of the best episodic wrestling I've ever seen. I haven't lost hope though. Wrestling is almost always one good night away from becoming interesting, and I'll continue to watch replays of Dynamite later in the week.
I feel like I've hit my stride with the RAW Review. Two weeks in a row I felt the weight of it and like I couldn't carry it. I pushed through that feeling to produce shorter reviews, clipping away everything about the shows I found unworthy of my time or energy. I've learned how to work with a deadline, even a self-imposed one, and the results have been promising. I like that Work Of Wrestling content bookends your week, a new pod on Monday, and a new review on Friday. It's a good system that allows me enough time to make sure both are as good as they can be.
The most exciting event in wrestling this week was the return of Roman Reigns on RAW, setting up a triple threat match between him, Punk, and Rollins at Mania. The promise of this match is great, a potential night one main event written all over it. I cannot express how happy it would make me for Punk to main event the showcase of the immortals. My fandom of his is thoroughly wrapped up in this dream. We'll see. I'm just happy there's still hope.
If you have any thoughts you’d like to share with me I’m on the social media gimmicks @WorkOfWrestling and you can always email me at wrestlingworks@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading and may the moment of pop be with you!